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The season just keeps flying by.
It seems like it was yesterday that we were gearing up for Zero Week of high school football, and now we are very close to the midpoint. Some teams have surprised us, while others have struggled to live up to expectations.
If I don't cover a team in this post that you would like to talk about, post your thoughts in the comments section below!
Here is the Week Three Observations:
Bear Lake 48, Malad 42: The Bears seem to be finding their groove now squeaking by Soda Springs and falling to South Fremont. They played a good Malad team that can spread it out and make life difficult for opposing defenses. Can Bear Lake take out perennial contender Snake River in the conference picture? Will the Dragons return to the top of the 2A SEIC?
Century 38, Blackfoot 21: The third time is the charm for Century, after losing their opening two games by a grand total of four points. The Diamondbacks will be in the playoff picture come the end of October. The Broncos, meanwhile, are off to a REALLY rough start. An 0-3 record is something that Blackfoot fans are not used to at all. The only way for the Broncos to go from here is up. But they better get on it quickly: the Bonneville game is coming up in two weeks. It's hard to fathom Blackfoot NOT being in the playoffs, but unless they can correct their mistakes, that will become a unwanted reality.
Bonneville 47, Hillcrest 14: One play put the wheels in motion for the Bees to dominate the Civil War and finally change the goalposts back to green. A Tanner Smith to Tyson Craig broken-play-chuck-it-up-there-and-hope-he-catches-it pass ended being the spark that Bonneville needed to break a 14-14 tie and romp to a 33 point victory. The Bees have the week off in preparation with their game vs. Blackfoot. Hillcrest drops to 0-4 and is struggling on offense. It's one thing to install a new offense, but it's another to install a quarterback-centered offense at a school that has primarily ran the ball exclusively. It'll take time, but I believe that Hillcrest can get it turned around.
Firth 39, South Fremont 20: I was at this game on Friday night and thought that it would be much closer than this game was. Firth was off to a rough start offensively, not putting the amount of points on the board we have been used to seeing the past couple of seasons. South Fremont had just come off of a good 28-20 win against Bear Lake. South Fremont's offense had no answer for the D-Line of Firth. The blue Cougars rushed out to a 39-0 lead, involving Jackson Thompson and Nick Anderson more in the offense. South Fremont's offense has potential, but only if they can protect QB Junior Gonzalez and give him time to throw, instead of running for his life.
Idaho Falls 52, Madison 13: When was the last time Idaho Falls had a perfect record heading into the Emotion Bowl? I can't remember and you might not be able to either. Regardless, fans in Tiger-land better be pumped at IF's quick turnaround. The Tigers have already won as many games as they did in the previous two seasons. The question that still remains: what happens when Idaho Falls plays a team that has just as much offensive firepower as they do? Madison showed their youth against IF and just didn't have an answer for their offense. Although, no one else has yet either, so they could possibly take that as a small consolation. The pressure is on the Bobcats now to win out in the conference to return to the State Tournament.
Rigby 32, Skyline 13: Here's a reality check for you: In the last four seasons, the Trojans have won four combined games. In the first four weeks of this season, Rigby has won all four of their games, including both of their conference games. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE?! Coach Randy Waite has his boys looking sharp early on. But now comes the meat of their schedule, including an extremely important game against Century in Rigby this week. Skyline was deemed by some to be the team that would challenge Highland in the 5A High Country Conference. After a thrilling win against Century, the Grizz must have experienced some sort of emotional letdown against Rigby, along with just being outplayed. Coach Scott Berger and Co. have some tinkering to do before the ever-important Emotion Bowl against Idaho Falls this week.
Highland 24, Coeur d'Alene 21: The Vikings came flying out of the gates, leading 21-3 early in the second quarter. That's when the Rams woke up and reeled off 21 unanswered points to win a thrilling game at Holt Arena. Coeur d'Alene was effective for the entire first half before the Highland LB's and DB's shut out the CDA offense in the second half. QB Gunnar Amos had enough time to drink a large chocolate milk, eat a donut, and then throw the football. That man needs to take his O-Line out to dinner or something: he had ALL DAY in the pocket. Rams RB Thad Hansen saved the day with his 1-yard TD dive with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that I hope we see this matchup again in the state tournament.
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