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Here are the top performers from Week 3 of the regular season.

1. Cody Power, Dietrich
An all-around game for an all-around player.  The Blue Devils quarterback ran for 257 yards and five touchdowns, passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, returned a punt for a touchdown, and had a hand in 12 tackles on defense as Dietrich improved to 3-0.  They are now one of three, three-win teams in 1A Division 2 (along with Kendrick and Horseshoe Bend.)

2. Trenton Lorentz, Prairie
In a wild, shootout victory over Whitepine rival Potlatch, the junior led the team in rushing (262 yards) and receiving (117 yards) while finding the end zone four times.  He added a sack on defense as the Pirates (2-1) have won two in a row after a season-opening loss to Oakley.

3. Blake Layton, Mullan/St. Regis


Honorable Mention
Brody Westergard, Butte County
Josh Gipe, Council
Chase Sanroman, Clark Fork
Louie Fabbi, Clearwater Valley
Dawson Bovard, Deary
Cameron Zeltner, Hagerman
Kaelun Jones, Horseshoe Bend
Brody Backus, Idaho City
Hunter Taylor, Kendrick
Wyatt Webb, Lewis County
Justice Schrader, Lighthouse Christian
Carter Woodland, Notus
Wyatt Johnson, Potlatch
Kole Spencer, Raft River
Gabe Zavala, Salmon River
Rylan West, Timberline
Jrew Plocher, Watersprings

MAN OF MANY HATS

In 8-man football, depth and versatility is key.  Often times, the two go hand-in-hand.  We've mentioned before that Oakley quarterback Porter Pickett earned all-state accolades as an offensive and defensive lineman last fall as a junior before moving under center.  Another prime example of it is happening for the team Oakley has toppled in the last two 1A Division 1 state title games - Raft River's Treg Whitaker.

In Friday's tough win over Lighthouse Christian, Whitaker split time on offense between fullback and right guard, while also playing a series at quarterback.  He also played the entire game at middle linebacker for head coach Chad Evans, coming up with more than ten tackles in the win.  And, as Evans points out, it wasn't like he was moving around just to try things out in a blowout victory.  His team needed every bit of Whitaker's effort as Raft River (2-0) edged Lighthouse Christian (0-2), 30-26.

SPEAKING OF...

Lighthouse Christian is 0-2.  But before you assume that means much, the two losses are by a total of 12 points - an eight-point loss to Grace in the team's opener before last week's four-point loss to Raft River.  What's crazy for the Lions and first-year head coach Jason Smith is this - their next three games are against Carey at home, against Butte County at home, and at Oakley.  A brutal five-game stretch to open the season for a team that looks like it could be pretty good.

SOME NUMBERS FUN

Quietly, one of the top offensive seasons in the state so far is being turned in by Timberline's Rylan West.  The junior running back has carried the ball 59 times through three games, picking up 565 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Spartans (1-2).  Another player putting together a nice season so far is Salmon River senior Tyrus Swift.  Swift has six touchdowns (two rushing, four receiving) through three games while averaging eight yards per carry on the ground and 22 yards per catch through the air for Salmon River (1-2).  He's also averaging almost eight tackles on defense and has a pair of interceptions.

BIG D

The Notus Pirates turned in one of the most impressive wins of the week on Friday, toppling Clearwater Valley 62-22.  It wasn't just the win that likely turned heads (the Pirates did run for 400 yards), but it's the way they dominated the line of scrimmage against a pretty solid Rams squad to do so. 

The middle of the Notus defense, led by Aaron Jimenez, Nico Sullivan and Connor Stafford, pretty much lived in the lap of Clearwater Valley quarterback Louie Fabbi - sacking him at least seven times (Notus head coach Joe Woodland was double-checking film to confirm) and chasing him out of the pocket on nearly every single play, rarely letting him get to a second read in his progressions.  They also never allowed explosive Clearwater Valley running back Bass Myers, who came into the game averaging nearly 200 yards per game, to get anything going on offense. 

Notus (2-1) has played a sneaky-strong non-conference schedule thus far (Kendrick, Council, Clearwater Valley) which should serve them well when Western Idaho Conference play begins on September 23rd against Wilder.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!