|
|
Written by: Will Hoenike
Follow Will Hoenike on Twitter: @WillHoenike
1A Division II
Salmon River at Dietrich, 1:00pm, Saturday
First of all, let me say that I LOVE that his game is being played at Dietrich High School. Not Holt Arena, not Dona Larsen Park in Boise. It’s in Dietrich. If the whole town isn’t shut down with lines upon lines of blue-clad Blue Devil fans, I’d be really surprised. Give this matchup the playoff atmosphere it deserves.
That said, do I find it odd that the unbeaten, top-ranked defending state champion (Salmon River) has to travel to play its semifinal football game? I do. But that’s another topic for another day.
As for the game itself, I’ve been on the Salmon River bandwagon since about midway through last season. That doesn’t change now. Dietrich will have to force Salmon River into turnovers – create extra possessions for its potent offense – to win.
Coach Charlie Shepherd has done a really nice job in Riggins with this Salmon River team and I expect him to lead his team onto the field for the 1A Division II state championship game next week. It’s a good matchup, should be an entertaining game … but Salmon River wins.
Lighthouse Christian at Council, 2:00pm, Saturday
Like the other semifinal, is it fair to wonder why the unbeaten, second-ranked team in the state (Lighthouse Christian) is the road team in the semifinals? Yes. Especially when you have to go to a town like Council, which is a tough, tough place to play. The Lumberjacks proved they were a tough team with last week’s win over Deary and now they get the home turf with a berth in the state championship game on the line.
Lighthouse Christian is in the semifinals for the third consecutive season – and it is no fluke. John van Vliet has the program crankin’ out wins like crazy down in Twin Falls.
Age-old comment in football, very true here: the play of the offensive line will win this game for someone. Council’s defensive front needs to be stout. If it turns into a track meet, it’s going to be a long day for the home team.
My old boss at KIVI-TV, Joe Hughes, is going to take issue with me saying this. However, Lighthouse Christian wins, setting up a 1A Division II championship game rematch with Salmon River.
1A Division 1
Hagerman vs. Raft River, 12:00pm, Saturday, Holt Arena
Yep, I’d prefer this game be played in Hagerman. But it isn’t … so, onward. It’s worth noting that the closest – CLOSEST – game that Hagerman has played all season was a 35-point win over Butte County on October 25. In fact, if you want to get straight loopy, Butte County “accomplished” (word in quotations for a reason) two things: the tightest margin of victory and then, the next week, the lowest point total scored by Hagerman (46) as the two teams met in back-to-back games.
However, Hagerman isn’t playing Butte County, they’re playing Raft River. The Trojans already got a taste of Hagerman in September, when they were summarily dumped, 58-8, on their home field. I don’t expect Raft River to get rolled so handily this time around.
You’ll notice the context in that sentence – I don’t expect Raft River to get beaten as badly this time as they did last time. Yup, that’s correct.
Hagerman is a tremendous football team. Raft River is a pretty good football team. In this instance, I’ll take “tremendous” over “pretty good.” Pirates advance.
Troy vs. Prairie, Friday, 7:00pm, Kibbie Dome
For those who don’t know, my roots are in eastern Washington, not too far from either of these communities (Oakesdale, WA). So, first off, I salute Troy for hanging a 52-6 whoopin’ on Rosalia (WA) back in September. Oakesdale and Rosalia are neighboring towns and the two sides don’t always love each other … to illustrate, the two were part of a co-op with Tekoa last season, Rosalia is playing alone this season.
So Troy has that going for it. I like teams that beat Rosalia (I did take swimming lessons in the Rosalia pool, though).
Troy and Hagerman split the vote, each receiving four first-place nods in the last state poll. Troy’s opponent, Prairie, checked in all by itself at no. 5 – a good team that, as I noted last week, some think will be even better next season. The Pirates already made me eat a little crow by beating Wallace in a big way last week. They can really make me eat my words this week with an upset over Troy. The Trojan defense has been a little more human the past three weeks after allowing just 12 points over the first seven games and the only two teams to hold Prairie below 46 points are both ranked no. 1 in the state (Troy and Salmon River). So the Pirates can put points on the board against the best of ‘em.
When the two teams met in White Pine League play, Troy won, 53-28. I fully expect this game to be close. I fully expect the Cottonwood fans that make the trip up to Moscow to think they have a chance to win the game deep into the second half. I just can’t bring myself to say they’ll do it and knock off the Trojans.
|