2A
New Plymouth vs Firth – @ Holt Arena Saturday 5:00pm
Watch the game live!

New Plymouth Pilgrims
Record – 4-6
Power Ranking – 9.33

Firth Cougars
Record – 5-5
Power Ranking – 25.50

Firth

Firth. The town with the best t-shirt slogans in Idaho. “If you’re not second, your Firth!” After getting off to a dismal start, losing their first four games, the Cougars won 5 out of their last 6. Their only loss in that stretch was at the hands of conference champion Butte County, 34-13, in week six.

Firth seems to be a team that peaked at the right time, and then kept right on going up. So far in the playoffs they have beaten a decent Malad team 33-26 and followed that up with a quarter-final victory over the Canyon Conference champions, Declo, 18-15.

That victory brought their season record all the way up to, well, even. Normally, being 5-5 in the semi-finals means you had a good run, but you are about to get your butt kicked by a team with a winning record. Lucky for the Cougars, the top half of the 2A bracket is anything but normal this year. Their opponents this week are the, self-anointed, Cinderella Pilgrims from New Plymouth who have a record of 4-6.

New Plymouth

What can I say about my ‘Grims? I spent 2nd grade through graduation as a Pilgrim and am as proud as the next New Plymouthite when our teams do well. But 4-6 and one game away from the state championship game? Really? Last year was supposed to be “The Year” as NP roared through the playoffs beating Orofino, then Kamiah, and eventually losing at home in the semi-finals to Malad 42-28.

This year they lost their first four games, including a beat-down in Homedale in week three 69-22. The rest of their season was win-some lose some until the playoffs. Maybe something happened on the bus ride up to Kamiah where they stunned their hosts, winning by the slimmest of margins 41-40. Whatever it was stuck around for last week’s quarter-final game where they beat the 2A WIC Champion Nampa Christian Trojans, 43-20.

In New Plymouth, they don’t rebuild, they – well, they don’t really reload either. What the Pilgrims have done in the twilight of their 2011 season is incredible, and I don’t think the teenage dream is over just yet.

New Plymouth defeats Firth 17-14