.jpg) 5A:
-Two top five teams went down by a combined total of two points, as #2 Rocky Mountain fell 7-6 to Borah and Madison won its rivalry contest with #5 Rigby 22-21.
-All 13 of the points in the Rocky Mountain-Borah game came in a 25 second span before the end of the first half. Lion quarterback Jake Standlee had a 1-yard scamper and running back Carter Kuehl answered with a 7-yard run of his own for the Grizzlies. While it came fairly early in the game, the difference for Borah was the point after touchdown kicked by Eden Makaafi. It was an impressive effort all the way around in a back-and-forth game for the upstart Lions, who behind head coach Jason Burton have entered right into the 5A SIC Pod B title race this season. The final three games for Borah come against Timberline, Kuna and Eagle, with the regular season finale with the Mustangs potentially being for the top seed out of the pod for the playoffs.
-For those keeping track, Kuna is now averaging 38.3 points per game after putting up a 54-spot on the Centennial Patriots in a 54-42 road win Friday.
-Post Falls and Mountain View each remained undefeated with wins over Wenatchee (WA) for the Trojans (42-14) and Columbia for the Mavericks (53-12). Expect the first place votes in the media poll this week to be split between the two.
-Madison's Coleman Cordero had one of the key plays state-wide in week six, returning an interception the length of the field just before halftime to give the Bobcats a lead heading into the locker room over Rigby. A 7-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Porter to Coy Backstein with 4:34 left in the ballgame gave Madison a lead it would not relinquish in a 22-21 win over the Trojans.
-Lake City seems to be heading in the right direction after a 31-14 road win at Sandpoint. The Timberwolves were again led by Grant Clark, who had 186 yards on 30 carries, reaching the end zone three times.
4A:
-Not many teams have had worse luck than the Emmett Huskies this year. Under first year coach Zane Hines the team has been in every game played, but three consecutive losses by a touchdown or less in conference play has the Huskies at 1-3 in the 4A SIC with just three weeks to go. The battle for the last spot out of the district into the playoffs will come down to Emmett, Ridgevue and Vallivue. If the Huskies can win out in the last three weeks, including matchups against the Warhawks and Falcons, they can make a return trip in their second year in 4A.
-At the top of the 4A SIC, Bishop Kelly, Middleton and Skyview all won. Some of the more impressive individual efforts from the week came from the Skyview duo of Wyatt Storer (21-28, 309 yards, 5 TD) and Wade Carpenter (5 receptions, 139 yards, 3 TD), along with Mitch Beitia from Middleton, who ran for 144 yards while also racing for a 62-yard touchdown and returning a pick-six on the other side of the ball.
-Skyline is clearly the class of 4A District 5-6, as the Grizzlies ran by a banged-up Century team 49-12 at home. Quarterback Dylan Bialas led the way for Skyline with 163 yards passing and three touchdowns, adding 42 yards on the ground. The defending state champions appear to have as good of a shot as anybody among teams not in the 4A SIC this season.
-Minico's Larry Vega had himself a day in a 56-28 thumping of Canyon Ridge. Vega ran for 460 and 7 touchdowns on 28 carries. The Spartans have a huge conference matchup ahead of them this week at home against Twin Falls. You can watch that game live and free on IdahoSports.com with Scott Burton and Mike Savage on the call.
3A:
-The annual Gooding-Kimberly matchup has grown into a must-watch contest each year, with the 2017 version not disappointing in its own right. Cameron Andersen's Senators got some revenge from the loss last year in a 28-20 win on the road over the Bulldogs. Behind sophomore signal-caller Shane Jennings, Gooding is right in the mix for a state title appearance this season. Sam Funkhouser was huge on defense in the win over Kimberly, forcing a crucial fumble late in the third quarter and causing another costly turnover on the very next offensive sequence for the Bulldogs.
-Fruitland did not play its best football in a 31-15 home win over a ranked Homedale squad, but nonetheless came away with the victory to maintain its spot atop both the SRV standings and most likely the media poll when it comes out early this week. Ryan Tracy's 6-0 Grizzlies are going to be awfully tough to upend this season as they look to repeat as 3A champions.
-The Mountain Rivers Conference vs. South East Idaho Conference matchups continue to be tight affairs, with South Fremont edging out an upstart Marsh Valley team 24-20 and Snake River holding off Teton 22-19.
-It was unconventional to say the least, but Buhl won its conference opener 24-21 over Filer despite negative rushing yardage as a team and a 9-33 mark through the air. While the completion percentage might not have been what the Indians were looking for, when the passes were completed big things happened, with 171 yards and two touchdowns for Austin Azevedo.
-Each 3A IML team lost on Friday. As conference play opens this week, Kellogg (3-2) and Priest River (2-3) hope to end the over a decade-long reign of supremacy atop the league for Timberlake. Both the Wildcats and Spartans have first year coaches in Dan Lucier and Brad Martin Jr.
2A:
-As you talk to coaches from throughout the state you get the same general consensus regarding Declo running back Keegan Duncan. That consensus is that he may very well be one of the top players in the state regardless of classification. After seven touchdowns last week against Teton, Duncan added four more in a 61-14 demolition of American Falls.
-Grangeville is a team to watch in the 2A classification, as the Bulldogs blanked the Lewiston JV 48-0 on Thursday to improve to 4-2. The only losses for Grangeville have been to 4A Moscow in the season opener and Clarkston (WA), coming by a combined nine points. Booker Bush had three touchdowns in the win last week, providing them on the ground, through a reception and on a kick return. He had 129 yards of total offense to lead Grangeville.
-There is no clear favorite in the 2A WIC, which should create some exciting football in the last few weeks of the regular season. Melba held off a Cole Valley team which was without Obadiyah Gee for the entire second half in a 19-16 win, while McCall-Donnelly (54-28 over Nampa Christian) and New Plymouth (34-0 over Marsing) each blew out their opponents. This week should tell us a lot more about how things will shake out between the four teams in contention. Perhaps the biggest upcoming matchup is New Plymouth at McCall-Donnelly and that can be watched live and free on Friday with Sven Alskog and Tyson Johnson on the call.
-North Fremont is a lot better than many have given them credit for so far to this point in the season. The Huskies proved that in an impressive 49-21 win over West Jefferson. This North Fremont team may very well be the favorite in the Nuclear Conference. A big matchup looms against Firth to end the regular season on October 20.
-West Side and Aberdeen are each sitting at 5-0 heading into a pivotal conference tilt on Friday in Aberdeen. The top-five battle can be seen live and free on IdahoSports.com with Lucas Gebhart and Chris Cardona bringing you the action.
1AD1:
-It's becoming increasingly obvious that when coaches in the 1AD1 Snake River Conference noted that it would be a five-team battle for playoff positioning this year that they knew what they were talking about. Valley, Oakley, Challis, Raft River and Grace all remain firmly in the discussion for one of those top three spots. Right now the Challis Vikings are the team everyone is talking about, as Challis has run off five straight wins behind the strong quarterback play of Ross Sheppeard. He had three touchdowns in a 39-12 road win at Glenns Ferry on Friday. Every other team in the mix also won this week, creating a logjam atop the conference. The game to circle this week is Raft River at Valley and that can be watched live and free with Ryan Howe on the call.
-Prairie had about as rough of a start on Friday as you could have, fumbling the opening kickoff and falling behind 6-0 right out of the chutes. However, the Pirates rebounded well and outscored Kamiah 38-6 from that point forward. Damian Forsmann had three passing touchdowns and one on the ground for Prairie, while Hunter Chaffee had four receptions for 123 yards.
-Tui Moliga of Lapwai stayed awfully busy in a 54-18 win over Clearwater Valley, rushing 39 times for 238 yards and five touchdowns.
-Troy finally got its first win of the Toby Foster era, defeating Potlatch 50-18 behind three Nick Powell touchdowns.
-Wilder and Idaho City both won to begin 1AD1 WIC action. Wilder improved to 3-1 overall with a hard-fought 16-6 win over a much-improved Rimrock team. Ezequiel Vargas had two rushing touchdowns to lead the way. Idaho City, the other Wildcats, knocked off Notus 34-16.
1AD2:
-Multiple upsets highlighted the week at the 1AD2 ranks, with Mackay's 26-22 shocker at Rockland perhaps the most surprising. The Miners entered the game having played just twice this season, falling in both games. Preseason favorite Rockland falls to 0-3 in conference play.
-The other upsets were not as surprising in nature as far as the win-loss result, but maybe more in the way they happened. Clark Fork handed it to Kootenai 44-12 behind 125 yards and three touchdowns on the ground from Josh Constantin, while Castleford toppled Camas County 46-36 at home. Don't look now, but Brian Lowry's Wolves are 3-2 in conference play, with a huge matchup looming on October 13 at home against Lighthouse Christian.
-Garden Valley and Salmon River each dominated in their Long Pin Conference openers, with the Wolverines clawing it out over Council by a score of 45-12 and the Savages blanking Cascade 52-0. Canyon Harper only needed ten carries to go for 242 yards and four touchdowns for Salmon River. The two teams play each other this Friday in a big battle in Riggins. Paul Kingsbury and Jaxon Kingsbury will be there to bring you the action live and free on IdahoSports.com.
-Tri-Valley is mighty impressive as well early in the season. The Titans shutout a Horseshoe Bend team that is not an easy out in a 42-0 victory. The race for the two playoff spots out of the Long Pin is going to be a lot of fun to follow.
-Jerry Gorbett had six touchdowns for Kendrick in a 66-6 win over Timberline (Weippe).
-Richfield's Justin Wood had the best state line of the week with 471 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns in an 82-66 thriller over Hansen.
-The #1 ranked Carey Panthers should maintain that positioning following a 36-20 home win over Dietrich. Houston Hennefer had two rushing touchdowns and added another through the air to pace the Panthers.
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