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2A Stars
1. Keaton Archibald (Butte County)
The speedy QB had 103 yards rushing and two scores to go along with a touchdown pass before he was removed from the game due to an injury. His fast start got his team on top and they held serve from there to return to the state championship game.
2. Maddox Kirkland (Kendrick)
The sophomore signal-caller threw for 201 yards and four scores (he added another TD on the ground) in the Tigers' semifinal win over Logos. He also had a hand in three successful 2-point conversions to help his team get past the Knights.
1A Stars
1. Preston Wood (Carey)
In the Panthers' semifinal win over Garden Valley, the senior threw six touchdown passes on just 13 completions. He also rushed for 167 yards and two more scores while contributing four tackles and an interception on defense.
2. Connor Perkins (Dietrich)
The Blue Devil senior had nine touchdowns last week and, not to be outdone, he had ten this week, six passing and four rushing. He compiled 502 yards of total offense, eight tackles on defense, a sack and an interception in the team's win over Tri-Valley
Honorable Mention
Trevor Corn (Garden Valley)
Wyatt Mavencamp (Hagerman)
Ryan Daniels (Logos)
Jace Waggoner (Tri-Valley)
2A Title Preview
In a matchup you're unlikely to see again in a title game anytime soon, you have a team seeking its second consecutive title (Butte County) facing off against a team seeking its four straight title (Kendrick). Both teams have playmakers all over the field; Kendrick features Sawyer Hewett, Xavier Carpenter, Ralli Roetcisoender, Cade Silflow, and more, while Butte County has Razor Duke, Rawson Twitchell, Koden Krosch, Levi Hendricks, and more. Kendrick has won 35 of its past 36 games while Butte County's overall record is 37-10 since the start of the 2020 season. The game will kick off at 4 PM (Pacific) on Friday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.
1A Title Preview
This game pits a pair of long-time district rivals against each other as Carey and Dietrich will face off Thursday night at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello. The two met in Dietrich in a 1-versus-2 matchup on October 11 and Carey ran away with a dominating victory, 54-6. The Panthers feature a senior quarterback (Preston Wood) who can do it himself but has also done a good job spreading the ball around to players like Gabe Saili, Stockton Sears, AJ Black, Eddie Gamino, and others. Dietrich also features a senior quarterback, Connor Perkins, who has scored 19 touchdowns in the past two games and has found the end zone, in one form or another, more than 50 times this season. But he, too, has help - Chase Norman, Brody Torgerson, Isaac Ward, and Wyett Sneddon, among others, are key contributors for Dietrich.
6-Man in Idaho?
There is an undercurrent of 8-man coaches in Idaho who are open to the idea of a 6-man division in the Gem State. That isn't new news, you've heard that before if you follow the 8-man game. What may be surprising to some is that momentum seems to be growing, bit by bit. Beyond the difference in players on the field, the field itself is actually smaller in 6-man, usually 80 yards long and 40 yards wide. Montana, Wyoming, and Oregon - each of which borders Idaho - has a six-man division so it isn't unprecedented in the region.
The biggest plus for the 6-man game is for the state's smallest schools, which just don't have the volume of athletes to compete with larger schools. Consider: North Gem's enrollment number, per the IHSAA, is 40 students. Mackay and Watersprings are conference rivals and each has over 70 students. Challis petitioned down into the 1A classification this year and its enrollment number is 119. Those are big gaps.
A minus for the 6-man game is geography. Idaho is a huge state, geographically. To illustrate the point, let's just say that both North Gem and Clark Fork opt for the 6-man game. There's nearly a 600-mile drive between those communities. Obviously, the state would not sanction a classification for only two schools - especially two as far apart as North Gem and Clark Fork - but use that to think about the distances involved. Timberline (Weippe) and Richfield - 420 miles by bus. Centennial Baptist (Caldwell) and Kootenai (Harrison Flats) - 360 miles. Rockland and Salmon River (Riggins) - 390 miles.
These schools and towns are used only for the sake of example beacuse they're among the smaller schools, enrollment-wise, in Idaho that currently (or recently) play football. We're not implying nor suggesting they'd all advocate for 6-man football. There are a lot of details that need to be ironed out but there are coaches willing to sit down at that table to see what is possible.
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