5 key football games for Idaho league title races — and our picks for them
No Treasure Valley football team can win a conference title this week. But a loss would tie an anchor to their championship dreams.
The 6A, 5A and 4A classifications all enter the meat of their league schedules, raising the stakes yet again. The king of the Boise School District will get crowned, two preseason favorites in the 6A SIC River Division meet, and key battles in the 5A SIC and 1A Long Pin Conference highlight the week.
We broke down the top five matchups and picked their winners below.
TIMBERLINE VS. CAPITAL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at Dona Larsen Park
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
The battle means plenty to the 6A SIC Foothills Division race, but first it will crown the unofficial champion of the Boise School District.
Capital (2-2, 0-1) long ruled the city with an iron fist, winning 37 straight games against its neighbors until 2015. Then its grip slipped. Just last year, No. 4-ranked Timberline (4-0, 1-0) snapped a 21-game losing streak to its crosstown rival with a 21-0 victory.
Capital continues to prove it can contend again, taking No. 1 Rocky Mountain to the wire in a 55-49 loss last week. Sophomore Quincey Clay is challenging Timberline’s Hudson Lewis for the title of the state’s most electric player, racking up 335 all-purpose yards in the loss. And with 6A-leading passer Brayden Dudley (1,139 yards, 12 TDs) and receiver Elliot Schrack (464 yards, four TDs), Capital fields the offensive weapons to hang with anyone.
But the Eagles’ defense has yet to prove it can stop a top-tier team. Timberline fields just as many, if not more, explosive weapons with Lewis (491 receiving yards, nine TDs) and quarterback Jack Brant (795 yards, 15 TDs). And it fields the state’s top defense (10.5 ppg) through four weeks, setting it up to sweep Boise School District opponents for the second time in program history and the first time since 2003.
Prediction: Timberline 35, Capital 28
EAGLE AT MOUNTAIN VIEW
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: YouTube.com, NFHSNetwork.com
Eagle and Mountain View finished first and second in the 6A SIC River Division preseason coaches’ poll, meaning we could look back at this game in a month as the decisive one for the division crown.
No. 2-ranked Eagle (4-0, 1-0) has won three straight over its West Ada rival, including a 52-14 beatdown last season. The Mustangs often start slow, a dangerous trait. But no one can argue with the results as Eagle has won four straight games by 21 or more points behind the prolific duo of quarterback Austin Ramsey (795 passing yards, 13 TDs) and 6A-leading rusher Noah Burnham (556 yards, seven TDs).
Mountain View (2-2, 1-0) held its own against top-ranked Rocky Mountain two weeks ago and has improved by miles after a program-worst 3-6 record last season. Quarterback Hank Nelson (983 yards, eight TDs) shows what a three-year starter can bring under center, and the Mavericks have rebuilt their once-feared defense, allowing just 12 points per game.
Mountain View still needs a marquee victory to prove it’s truly back. It won’t get a better opportunity than this home game Friday night.
Prediction: Eagle 35, Mountain View 21
VALLIVUE AT EMMETT
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
No team packs as much drama into Friday night as Emmett. The Huskies (3-2, 1-1 5A SIC) beat Ridgevue with 2 seconds left two weeks ago, then fell to Skyview with 5 seconds left last week. Considering four of their past five games against Vallivue were decided by four points or fewer, expect another nailbiter.
Emmett’s rushing attack remains the best in 5A, averaging 340 yards per game behind Nessen Korell (727 yards, three TDs) and Ryder Leonard (495 yards, five TDs). But it faces its toughest test yet in Vallivue, which surrenders just 55 rushing yards per game, the second fewest in 5A.
Vallivue (2-2, 1-0) recovered to win back-to-back games after a 0-2 start with the return of Onix Carson (205 yards, four TDs). The Falcons expected to contend for a conference title this year. They need to score a road victory here to stay in control of their own destiny.
Prediction: Emmett 32, Vallivue 30
WEISER AT MCCALL-DONNELLY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Fruitland and Homedale appear set on a collision course for the 4A SRV conference title and the league’s only automatic playoff berth. Weiser (2-2) and McCall-Donnelly (3-1) will have plenty to say in that title race, but they can’t truly contend without a victory Friday.
McCall-Donnelly (3-1) looks like a real contender under first-year coach David Joyce. Dual-threat quarterback Gunner Newman is putting up big numbers (1,201 total yards, 12 TDs), Colt Value provides an electric threat out of the backfield (452 yards, four TDs) and the defense surrenders just 17.3 points per game.
Defending league champ Weiser (2-2) lost its first two games before finding its footing. The Wolverines remain tough on the ground, running for 239 yards per game behind a two-headed attack of Cole Ingle (345 yards, three TDs) and Ty Cobb (244 yards, two TDs). Plus, Weiser has owned McCall, winning all five matchups since the Vandals returned to the SRV in 2020.
Prediction: Weiser 26, McCall-Donnelly 22
GARDEN VALLEY AT TRI-VALLEY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
The top matchup of the weekend may come at the 8-man level. The Long Pin Conference gets only one automatic playoff berth. But it hosts three of the top five-ranked teams in the 1A classification, and two square off on the opening night of league play.
Tri-Valley quarterback Jace Waggoner (896 total yards, 11 TDs) can take over the game in the blink of an eye, and the only blemish for the No. 5-ranked Titans (3-1) came in a season-opening loss to defending Oregon state champ Adrian, a winner of 14 straight.
No. 3 Garden Valley (4-0) relies on a more balanced attack that features a dangerous special teams and defense that have combined to score three touchdowns already.
Prediction: Tri-Valley 40, Garden Valley 30
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
