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Written by: Matt Harris
Follow Matt Harris on Twitter: @IdahoSportsMatt
Class 3A
Homedale Trojans (9-1) vs. Fruitland Grizzlies (9-1) at Homedale HS, Saturday Nov. 16 at 2:00 p.m. MST
This semi-final is a rematch of an Oct. 11 Snake River Valley conference game at Fruitland, a game that turned a lot of heads around the state. The Fruitland Grizzlies, the perennial State Championship participant, lost to the Homedale Trojans that night by 22 points. The Trojans claimed the SRV Conference Championship the same night. I don’t know if the thought of Homedale being a potential state championship candidate crossed anyone’s minds outside of Homedale until the Trojans beat Fruitland.
The Grizzlies have regrouped since that time and run off three straight victories, including another win against Timberlake (you think the Tigers are tired of playing Fruitland in the playoffs yet?). The orange and black gave up more than 200 yards of offense to Timberlake in the first half, but made good adjustments to slow down the Tigers in the latter half. Offensively, Jerred Seamons and Kennon Smith play efficient, effective football that paced Fruitland in the win.
Homedale welcomed the Bonners Ferry Badgers to Deward Bell Stadium after a nearly 500-mile trip and then sent them packing with a 67-0 loss in tow. Josh Tolmie ran in five touchdowns in the win. Sophomore quarterback Lawsen Matteson connected on 12-of-18 passing attempts for 269 yards and two touchdowns. But the defense was the story as they allowed only 145 total yards.
Can Fruitland correct their mistakes from their first meeting with Homedale and secure their eighth straight state championship game appearance? Or will the Trojans contain the Grizzlies again, this time on their home turf, and improve on what is already their best showing at the 3A level in school history?
This game is going to be hard-hitting, rough n’ tough, grind-it-out football. It’s going to be an extremely good game of pigskin that probably ends up coming down to the final play. I have a feeling that Fruitland’s streak in the state title game is coming to an end this year. I’ll pick Homedale by less than one touchdown.
Gooding Senators (8-2) vs. Shelley Russets (9-1) at Holt Arena, Saturday Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. MST
Another rematch here with this being a repeat of the 2012 3A State Semi-Finals. Last year’s tilt was played at Gooding and the Senators took it to the Russets early on. With the game still tied at 7 midway through the 3rd quarter, Shelley began to pull away and eventually blew the game wide open before advancing to the state championship 47-7.
The memory of that loss is still with the Senators. How they learn from the pain of that memory will go a long ways in determining how they play on Saturday night.
Last week, Gooding managed only 236 yards of offense, yet was still able to knock off Sugar-Salem 36-22 despite giving up 385 yards rushing to the Diggers. Strong special teams’ play and the fact that RB Josh Finley had a 280-lb All-Idaho lineman by the name of Cole McGinnis becoming his lead blocker from the fullback position led the Senators to the win. Finley was tough to stop and he was rarely stopped last Friday night.
Those 385 rushing yards concern me however. Yes, I know that Sugar-Salem runs the double-wing, triple-option and about every other running scheme imaginable. But it was no secret that the Diggers strength was not in the passing game, meaning that the Senators could feel pretty safe about stacking the box against Sugar-Salem. But Gooding can’t do that against Shelley because of dual-threat QB Kaden Schmitt, who ran and passed over Snake River last week for key first downs.
The Russets 26-0 win over Snake River last week marks their third shutout in four games, an impressive stat no matter what level you play at. Whenever the Panthers would make a drive near the red zone, Shelley clamped down and made a stand. They also made the Panthers pay on offense inside the red zone, with RB Randy Bauer punching in two touchdowns.
Schmitt did make some mistakes which could have led to bigger things for Snake River. Two interceptions gave the Panthers some life, which they almost capitalized on. Prior to this game, Schmitt had thrown only three interceptions this year. The Gooding defensive backs better take notice and see if they can duplicate what Snake River’s DB’s did last week.
Can Gooding move the ball effectively against Shelley’s stingy defense? Will the Russets pound the ball down the throats of the Senators? In the end, I believe that the depth and offensive weapons of Shelley will be too much for Gooding. I’ll pick the Russets to return to the title game with a two touchdown win.
Class 2A
Wendell Trojans (9-1) vs. Declo Hornets (8-2) at Holt Arena, Saturday Nov. 16 at 5:00 p.m. MST.
This game is a rematch of a much talked about regular season matchup on Oct. 3 in Wendell. The Trojans edged the Hornets 7-6 and took control of the Canyon Conference from the defending state champions. Since that time, both teams have been on a roll… and on a crash course to meet up with each other in the playoffs, if the chips fell just right.
Declo is coming off of a 23-17 win over a perennially tough Grangeville team on the Bulldogs home turf. Wendell had to come back to beat North Fremont 32-28 at home. If you were to only look at those two games, who would you say has the momentum heading into this one?
Halftime is a great thing. It gives a chance for coaches to make adjustments and to get the whole team on the same page with those adjustments. For Declo, they held Grangeville to zero points after halftime. Wendell wasn’t as fortunate, as they gave up 22 points after the break to the run-heavy Huskies.
The Trojans are led by the trio of Alex Swainston, Jacob Rocha, and Logan Bowers, who all combined for 319 total yards against North Fremont. They will need to have their best game of the season against the Hornets on Saturday. The defense also needs to replicate their strategy against Declo from the first go-around. Holding the Hornets to six points throughout an entire game is no small feat. The Trojans solved the puzzle… at least for that game.
Declo, meanwhile, has a seemingly endless amount of players that can touch the football and turn it into rushing yards: Jackson Duncan, Stegan Garner, and Boston Webb to name just a few. Ever since their loss to the Trojans back in October, the Hornets have beaten their opponents by an average of 26.5 points per game (not including the Glenns Ferry forfeit on Oct. 18). The offense has been on a mission to be ready for a possible chance at squaring off against Wendell again… and gunning for another state championship?
Does Declo get their revenge on Wendell? Or do the Trojans shut down the Hornets once again and advance to the State Finals? I believe this is going to be a low-scoring game, but not nearly as low as last time. I feel that Declo has been playing better football as of late. I think the Hornets return to defend their state championship by edging past Wendell in a one touchdown game.
Firth Cougars (9-1) vs. West Side Pirates (9-1) at Holt Arena, Saturday Nov. 16 at 2:30 p.m. MST.
The Cougars have just flat out had West Side’s number the past two years. These two teams have met up twice in the regular season and once in the playoffs since the start of the 2012 season. The first matchup was a 44-18 win for Firth at home, followed by a Cougars 22-14 victory in the State Semi-Finals last year at Holt Arena. The two squads opened up the campaign this season with a game in Dayton, a 24-12 Firth triumph. Three games, three Firth wins.
Both teams have rolled this season. Firth capped off another conference championship with a 45-6 shellacking of North Fremont in Ashton on Oct. 18. West Side claimed their 32nd District Title with a 35-9 victory over Soda Springs. These two schools have plenty of football history and plenty of prowess on the field.
Firth’s Connor Montgomery has been an animal for the Cougars this season, regularly racking up 200+ yards and shredding defenses. His O-Line has blocked extremely well for him to help him in his efforts. The defense has played pretty well too, especially against the run game. The Cougars have only given up more than 20 points in a game once this year. But it was that one game that really caught my attention to a weakness that may have been overlooked on Firth’s defense.
On Oct. 11, Firth squeaked out a 41-40 win over Salmon and their pass-happy offense led by Jedd Tibbitts. While the offense was able to keep pace with the Savages, the secondary was exposed by Tibbitts as he sliced them apart like a surgeon on the operating table. The Cougars have since made adjustments and played against another pass-happy team in Cole Valley, a 46-20 win last week.
How does this all apply to a traditional ground-and-pound offense like we see from West Side year after year? Well, the Pirates have opened up the passing game a little more this season and have had more success. Peyton Brown has played extremely well under center this year. It has also helped to have players like Trevor Montes, Coby Roholt, Wyatt Beckstead, and Jantz Ebanez surrounding him in the run game to help take some of the pressure off.
My question is if West Side decides to attack the Firth secondary. They wouldn’t need to shift a lot of their play-calling to it, but it might make the difference in the game if the Cougars can’t stop the Pirates from going over the top of the defense.
Is the fourth time a charm for West Side in their quest to knock off Firth? Or do the Cougars advance to their third straight state championship game, thereby keeping the dream alive of winning a state title? I can see another lower-scoring game coming to fruition in this one. I don’t know why, but I’m getting the gut feeling that Firth barely edges West Side by three points or less in this one.
Good luck to all the teams that are playing and representing their schools and communities this weekend. Do so with class and dignity. Play your best and leave it all out there on the field!
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