MERIDIAN — It wasn’t pretty, but the Rocky Mountain High football team found a way to remain unbeaten.
Riley Bradshaw threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and linebacker Jake Knight provided the key play with a 22-yard interception return TD as the Grizzlies knocked off rival Mountain View 20-6 Friday at Brighton Stadium.
Rocky Mountain (6-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference when Borah knocked off previously undefeated Eagle.
“We’ll take the win,” Rocky Mountain coach Jason Warr said. “Mountain View is a very good team, so I’m pleased with that. Our defense played great tonight. Hopefully we can take the next step on offense, because we’re doing a lot of good things but we haven’t quite clicked yet.”
Defensively, the Grizzlies forced four turnovers and limited the Mavericks to 203 total yards. The game’s pivotal play came early in the fourth quarter, when Knight stepped in front of a short Kai Turner pass and rumbled to the end zone to give Rocky Mountain a comfortable 20-6 lead.
“I saw the screen pass coming,” said Knight, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior. “I just stepped in front of it and did what I like to do.”
The Grizzlies came up with two more interceptions in the final 10 minutes.
Rocky Mountain got off to a promising start, taking the ball at midfield after a failed onside kick and marching to the end zone in six plays, capped by an 18-yard TD pass from Riley Bradshaw to Chance Hamilton.
The Grizzlies continued to move the ball on offense — outgaining the Mavericks 118-83 in the first half — but untimely turnovers ended two scoring opportunities as Rocky lost a fumble inside the Mountain View 5 and also threw an interception in the end zone.
Mountain View failed to advance past the Grizzlies’ 30 yard-line in the opening half, and Rocky Mountain took a 7-0 halftime lead.
“I felt like we took a step back on offense with our struggles in the red zone,” Bradshaw said. “But we hit a couple big plays and our defense stepped up and played great for us.”
Mountain View (3-3) got on the board midway through the third quarter as Josh Buss capped a short drive with a 2-yard TD. A missed PAT kept Rocky Mountain on top, and the Grizzlies added to their lead moments later when Bradshaw found Landry Batis with a perfectly thrown 31-yard bomb to make it 14-6.
Neither offense found the end zone again, with Knight’s pick-six providing the final margin.
Shortly after the final whistle, the Rocky Mountain crowd applauded the news of Eagle’s loss to Borah. The Grizzlies visit Eagle next week in a game that likely will decide the 5A SIC title.
