.jpg) 5A:
-The Highland Rams felt like some people throughout the state may have been sleeping on them heading into their matchup in Rexburg with Madison last week. They were quick to wake them up in what turned into a 35-6 blowout of the Bobcats. Madison's offense was put into a vice-grip, as the Rams held quarterback Jordan Porter in check. On the offensive end, Highland was piloted in the air by Kobe Tracy, who went 22-33 for 205 yards and a touchdown. Jesus Garcia had 81 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. The Rams (5-1, 2-0) control their own destiny in terms of taking another district crown, with matchups remaining this week at Rigby and on the 20th at home against Hillcrest.
-Those Rigby Trojans were victorious in arguably the most exciting game of the season state-wide on Friday, holding off Hillcrest 58-52 in triple overtime. Braden Youngstrom's fifth touchdown of the game, a 5-yarder in the third overtime, sealed the deal for the Trojans. Youngstrom had another mammoth game in the win, rushing for 187 yards on 27 carries.
-Post Falls had the most interesting stat of the week come out of its 49-14 thumping of Lake City, as the Trojans scored their seven touchdowns on drives totaling 9 minutes and 43 seconds of game time, with the longest drive among that span just 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Nate Buer was efficient again, completing 20-24 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The win improves Post Falls to 7-0 on the season, with a pivotal matchup at Coeur d'Alene looming in two weeks.
-Coeur d'Alene opened league play with a big win of its own, handing it to Lewiston 55-18 at home. Colson Yankoff had three touchdowns for the Vikings, along with 208 passing yards.
-In the 5A SIC the expected favorites took away convincing victories, as Capital, Rocky Mountain, Mountain View, Columbia and Borah all won by 19 or more. The closest game of the week was a fun one between Eagle and Centennial, where the Patriots gave the Mustangs all they could handle late in a 35-28 loss. Luke Favillo had two touchdowns on the ground for Eagle in the win, while Dayne Koch had 179 passing yards and added another 57 on the ground in the loss for Centennial.
4A:
-Credit the Middleton Vikings for the best response a team could have to an 0-2 start, as the team has now reeled off a 5-game winning streak to begin conference play after a 28-6 win over Bishop Kelly. In the first year in a wide-open pass-heavy attack, the Vikings have relied plenty on quarterback Darin Post, who was again fantastic with 257 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Knights, who lost for the first time in their last 20 conference games. Middleton can clinch the 4A SIC crown with a win at home against #1 ranked Skyview (7-0, 5-0) this Friday. You can watch that game live and free on IdahoSports.com with Clay Hatfield and Josh Byers on the call.
-In Skyview's win over Mountain Home, the Hawks put up 69 points behind quarterback Wyatt Storer, who was 27-34 and threw for six touchdowns. The top-ranked Hawks would go on to win 69-41.
-With wins this week, Vallivue and Emmett set themselves up as the favorites for the fourth seed into the playoffs out of the SIC, with the duo now in a three-way tie with Ridgevue at 2-3, a team that the Falcons beat 55-14 this week and that the Huskies play in the season finale at home. Nick Fox led Vallivue in the rivalry win over the Warhawks this week, rushing for three touchdowns and 190 yards on 12 carries. DJ Crump meanwhile returned from a concussion for Emmett in a 48-15 win over Caldwell, scoring two touchdowns. The Falcons and Huskies square off this week in Emmett in a pivotal conference matchup. Sven Alskog and Jaxon Kingsbury will be there live to bring you the game on IdahoSports.com.
-On the other side of the state, Skyline and Idaho Falls have each clinched playoff spots out of district 5-6. The Tigers sealed their spot with a 48-14 demolition of Preston on Thursday, while Skyline handled Blackfoot 31-8 to remain undefeated in conference action.
-Pocatello entered firmly into the discussion for the third seed out of the district with an impressive 27-14 handling of Century. The Indians wrap up the regular season with a home game against Skyline this week before heading to Blackfoot next week. If Dave Spillett's crew can win one of those contests they'll be in the 4A playoffs.
-Behind a bend but don't break defense, the Minico Spartans came away victorious over Twin Falls in a huge Great Basin Conference battle. In that 21-7 win, the Spartans had two touchdown connections from quarterback John Perrigot to receiver Nicky Caldera. Six turnovers on downs in Minico territory can be blamed heavily for the loss for the Bruins, who now need help from Jerome and Wood River to have a chance at winning a conference title. The win allows the Spartans to control their own destiny with those upcoming games against the Tigers and Wolverines.
-Lakeland opened 4A IEL play with a 37-14 home win over Moscow. Josh Brandt scored three touchdowns for the Hawks in the win.
3A:
-A huge day for Gooding sophomore quarterback Shane Jennings was overshadowed by a season-ending knee injury to star linebacker Sam Funkhouser. The Senators defeated Filer 70-28 on Thursday, with Jennings going 10-18 for 255 yards and five touchdowns through the air, along with another 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
-Squaring off with a stingy Marsh Valley defense, the Snake River Panthers went to a run-heavy look on Friday in a 21-7 win. Jeb Harrison's Panthers ran the ball 55 times for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Snake River quarterback Coby Young had two rushing touchdowns and 135 passing yards in the win.
-Kellogg and Priest River both won their 3A IML openers, setting up an intriguing matchup of two much-improved teams this week. Wolfgang Beier ran 17 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats in their 32-14 win at Timberlake. Priest River handed it to Bonners Ferry 40-6.
-The Timberlake loss was the first for the program in IML play since a 2008 defeat at the hands of Orofino. Perhaps more impressive, it was the first Kellogg win over the Tigers since 2001.
-Fruitland went into Weiser and blasted the Wolverines in a 62-3 win. To put the domination of this game into perspective, the Grizzlies utilized a player who is typically an offensive lineman, Jonathon Fagen, to the tune of four carries, 139 yards and two touchdowns. It's safe to say everything was working again for the undefeated Grizzlies.
-Sugar-Salem won the Cold War over South Fremont 37-35 after leading 34-7 through three quarters. The incredible comeback by the Cougars went for not after a 20-yard field goal by Luke Terry with 13 seconds remaining that would turn out to be the game-winner. Hayden Crapo led the charge for Sugar, rushing for 128 yards on 27 carries, while throwing for another 208 yards and totaling four touchdowns of his own.
-Shelley also won its conference opener, blanking typically high-powered Teton 21-0 at home.
2A:
-The Nuclear Conference took a wild turn on Friday night, as North Fremont quarterback Garrett Hawkes was hurt on the first play of the game and did not play for the remainder, with the Salmon Savages piling it on after that point in a 46-6 win.
-Salmon's surprise win, its first of the season, was not the only eye-raiser in the Nuke this week. Ririe also upended Firth 27-12, the first win for the Bulldogs over the perennial powers since the 2009 season. Stockton Johnson had two touchdowns for Ririe in the win. With just two weeks remaining, the Bulldogs sit atop the conference at 2-1, although every other team has one win, meaning it could be mass chaos to determine playoff seeding in a five team conference where only three get in.
-#2 Aberdeen held off #3 West Side in overtime in a 14-7 defensive slugfest. Hulizes Ortiz' 1-yard touchdown run in overtime was the difference in this one. Ortiz also ran for 75 yards in total on 17 carries. The low-scoring affair continues a trend for Aberdeen, a team which has allowed more than seven points in a game just once this season, including shutting out three opponents.
-The action in the 2A WIC was almost as wild as what we saw in the Nuclear Conference, as previously winless Nampa Christian shocked Melba and McCall-Donnelly went to the halfback pass from Kyle Sellers to quarterback Ben Knudson with 4-seconds left to avenge last years loss to New Plymouth in a 21-16 thriller. Combined with Cole Valley's 35-6 win over Marsing, four teams (Cole Valley, Melba, New Plymouth, McCall-Donnelly) now sit at 2-1 in conference play with just two weeks left.
-What a game it was from St. Maries as well, where the defending state champion Lumberjacks almost found a way to pull off the upset over Grangeville on Friday. The Bulldogs ended up escaping 30-29 in overtime, but what a scare it was from a St. Maries team that took a 29-22 lead with a Kaden Hammond one-yard run to get overtime started. Grangeville answered quickly, then decided to roll the dice and go for two, which turned out to be the right decision and the difference in the huge conference win. Booker Bush caught the touchdown pass and converted the two-point conversion for the Bulldogs.
-Undefeated and #1 Declo was victorious again in a 55-6 blowout of Orofino. Keegan Duncan ran 14 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns to continue a dominant individual and team season so far for the Hornets, who have had little resistance on their way to a 7-0 start.
1AD1:
-Genesee improved to 5-0 on the season with a 66-8 win at Potlatch. Edward Becker had 101 yards and two touchdowns on his two carries, while Kolby Moser added 84 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries. The Bulldogs take on Lapwai, the only other remaining undefeated team in White Pine Leauge action, this Friday.
-Valley defeated defending state champion Raft River 22-12. Viking quarterback Jason Hardy had one touchdown each on the ground and through the air to lead the way in the win. On the night he threw for 112 yards and ran for 71. The loss creates a tough road to hoe for the Trojans, who now have two conference losses with a difficult battle looming on October 27 at Oakley as well. With Valley and Oakley both still undefeated in Snake River Conference action, along with upstart programs in Challis and Grace entering the discussion, it should be a wild final three weeks to see who gets in.
-That Challis team improved to 6-1 on the season with a 34-20 non-conference win at North Gem. Pete Bradshaw had four touchdowns for the Vikings in the victory, running for 135 yards on 14 carries in the process.
-Wilder had a nice win over Horseshoe Bend to improve to 2-0 in conference play. The Wildcats knocked off the Mustangs 58-24 behind Pablo Martinez's 9-10 passing effort in which he threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Benji Escuitia had 153 yards on 18 carries, along with a touchdown as well. Undefeated 1A WIC teams Idaho City and Wilder square off this Friday in Idaho City in a huge matchup for playoff positioning.
-Lapwai squeezed by Kamiah 40-36 to remain undefeated in the White Pine League. Running back Tui Moliga filled in for quarterback Peyton Sobotta, who was out with the flu, to lead the Wildcats to a win. Moliga threw for 219 yards, ran for 80 and contributed 13 tackles on defense.
1AD2:
-The 1AD2 schedule was pretty light in week seven, with the clear highlight of the slate a battle of ranked teams in Riggins between Salmon River and Garden Valley. The defending state champion Savages took the win 46-14, wearing down a resilient Wolverines bunch in the second half.
-Two teams eclipsed 80 points, as Kendrick won 88-6 over Kootenai and Hagerman defeated Murtaugh 84-42.
-Butte County remained undefeated in league play with a 52-20 rivalry win over Mackay. Keyan Cummins had 106 yards rushing and four touchdowns, while Brett Waymire also had some big runs, totaling 140 yards on just five carries. He had a rushing touchdown and caught one for six as well.
-Looking ahead to week eight, the Tri-Valley at Salmon River contest should help provide clarity on just how good each team is this year. The Titans have impressed mightily to this point, but the matchup with the Savages will be the biggest test to date on the schedule without question.
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