It had the buildup and potential to be a midseason test for two undefeated teams.

But the Eagle High football team quickly turned Friday night's 5A Southern Idaho Conference Division 1 opener into a definitive statement.

Eagle proved that it's the team to beat after it spoiled Mountain View's homecoming with a 31-17 victory in front of a packed house at Mountain View.

"It puts us in line for state," senior defensive lineman Chase Erickson said after setting the tone with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Eagle improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the division. Mountain View fell to 3-1, 0-1.

Eagle's defense caused four turnovers and kept Mountain View out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Taylor Kelly passed for 265 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another.

Running back Drew McConnell chipped away for 85 hard-fought yards and receivers Dallas Yorgason, Jacob Johnston and Dustin Lukehart all had touchdown catches.

"It's good for enthusiasm and all that, but we have very lofty goals," said Eagle coach Paul Peterson, whose team led 18-0 at halftime. "We played good tonight."

Erickson put the Mavericks on the scoreboards early. Fellow defensive lineman Sean McElwain hit Mountain View quarterback Zane Hibbard as he was throwing the ball and Erickson was there to snatch the ball out of the air and lumber the other way for the score.

The touchdown occurred on just his fourth play of this season after returning from a broken foot.

"The stars aligned for Chase tonight," Peterson said. "It (the score) gave us that little extra boost. We're off to a good start to get what we want."

The Mustangs and Mavericks each defeated Centennial, Meridian and Post Falls entering the game. Eagle wanted to prove it was the team to beat in the division. It did just that with a convincing win.

In the second quarter, quarterback Taylor Kelly and receiver Jacob Johnston hooked up on a 19-yard score, and Kelly later dove in from 1 yard to give the Mustangs the big lead.

The only thing Eagle didn't do right in the first half was convert PATs. The Mustangs were 0-for-3 on two-point attempts.

Zach Richardson put Mountain View on the board with a 27-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 18-3.

The Mavericks didn't reach the end zone until Tyson Percifield hit receiver Neal Eldridge with 12-yard TD pass with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left.

Percifield later hit Forest VanDehey for a 5-yard TD.

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