Division, league football titles are on the line. How 8 teams can capture a championship
The playoffs still loom two weeks away. But division and conference championships are on the line Friday in the 6A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A classifications.
We broke down all the scenarios and predicted the winner of the top Southwest Idaho matchups below.
EAGLE VS. BORAH
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at Dona Larsen Park
Watch: Fan.Hudl.com
The scenarios in the 6A SIC River Division remain dead simple. The winner of this game clinches the division crown, advances to the conference championship game and earns a first-round playoff bye — no ifs, thens or tiebreakers needed.
No. 2-ranked Eagle (6-1, 4-0) has owned this division in recent years, winning 16 straight games against River Division opponents. The reigning SIC champ once again looks like one of the state’s best, losing its only game against the second-ranked team in Oregon.
A win would clinch Borah (5-2, 3-1) its first outright division or conference title since 1984. (Borah shared titles in 2017, 2012, 1995 and 1994). A last-second loss to Mountain View last week snapped the Lions’ five-game winning streak, but they remain in full control of their destiny.
Pick: Eagle 28, Borah 20
TIMBERLINE AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
The 6A SIC Foothills Division follows a similar formula. The winner of this game secures the division crown, plays in the conference championship game and clinches a first-round playoff bye.
Those awards are nothing new for No. 1-ranked Rocky Mountain (7-0, 4-0). But a victory would earn Timberline (5-2, 3-1) its first division or league title in program history.
The Wolves have lost 12 in a row to Rocky Mountain, and the Grizzlies are winning games by 38.3 points per night. But in a season full of upsets, what’s one more?
Pick: Rocky Mountain 34, Timberline 20
WEISER AT FRUITLAND
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
The 4A classification remains wide-open, with four teams claiming the top spot in the state media poll the past five weeks. But No. 5-ranked Weiser (5-2, 3-0) can provide some clarity to the state’s pecking order by wrapping up its first SRV title since 2005 with a road win.
No. 3 Fruitland (6-1, 2-1) needs to win and see McCall-Donnelly upset No. 1 Homedale to take full control of the conference race. But the Grizzlies cannot win the league Friday night.
Pick: Fruitland 27, Weiser 22
NEW PLYMOUTH AT NAMPA CHRISTIAN
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
No one has won back-to-back 3A WIC championships in 15 years. Nampa Christian (4-3, 3-0) aims to change that Friday against New Plymouth (1-5, 1-1), completing a sweep of the parity-filled league.
The conference title remains extra important in the 3A WIC because it comes with the league’s only guaranteed playoff berth. Idaho awards the rest of the playoff berths in this classification via MaxPreps rankings, and the computer formula has never favored the 3A WIC.
Pick: Nampa Christian 34, New Plymouth 7
WILDER AT RIMROCK
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Ronaldo Gomez has carried Rimrock (4-1, 2-0 2A WIC) to new heights this fall. The do-it-all senior has racked up 1,609 total yards and 27 touchdowns in just five games, and he’s averaging a team-leading 12.4 tackles per game.
One more big performance against Wilder (3-3, 2-1) would clinch the Raiders their first playoff berth since 2014, their first league title since 2011 and a first-round bye.
Pick: Rimrock 49, Wilder 14
COUNCIL AT CASCADE
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
Many expected Council (5-1, 3-0) to take a step back this season with an entirely new coaching staff, and the Lumberjacks finished third out of six teams in the Long Pin’s preseason coaches’ poll. But they can clinch their third straight league title — and the league’s only guaranteed playoff berth — with a win at Cascade (4-1, 2-1) on Friday.
Pick: Council 42, Cascade 13
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 12:10 PM.
