This old cliche will bring two state football titles to the Treasure Valley

Football remains a sport loaded with cliches, many of which have outlived their usefulness. But one remains a bedrock truth — defense wins championships.

The 5A, 4A and 3A state championship games kick off Saturday in the Treasure Valley, and each one of them pits the state’s No. 1 defense against the classification’s No. 2 unit.

Running backs putting up ungodly numbers and quarterbacks throwing for 300 yards every week get all the headlines. But, as this year’s crop of finalists proves, hanging a banner still requires an elite defense.

“If you looked at who’s won and who’s played in the state championship, they’ve got outstanding defenses,” Rocky Mountain coach Chris Culig said. “As a defensive coordinator, that’s what I’m always harping on. If we’re not top notch, we’re not going to be around no matter how many points our offense is scoring.”

All the no-huddle offenses spreading the field, lighting up the scoreboard and going for two points without blinking an eye have forever changed the game. Scoring has skyrocketed, and it’s only accelerating.

The same holds true for the average 4A team, which jumped from 23.3 points per game three years ago to 26.5 this season, a 14 percent increase. A three- or four-point increase might not sound like much. But remember that’s for both teams on the field, leading to an extra touchdown in every game played in every corner of the state.

Idaho added a mercy rule for its 11-man classifications three years ago. The average 5A team scored 25.1 points per game that season, a slight decline as the mercy rule reined in blowouts. But that number has jumped to 29.5 this fall, a 17 percent increase.

But this year’s final state finalists have cut across that trend. With points put up seemingly at will, a shutdown defense has only become more critical.

“There’s a lot of teams putting up a lot of points, but we’re kind of old school,” Highland coach Gino Mariani said. “The only other team I’ve watched that’s really old school like us is Bishop Kelly that huddles every time.”

“Old school” could describe every 5A and 4A team in the finals. Rocky Mountain runs a spread but remains built around its attacking defense. Highland still runs its pro-style offense. Bishop Kelly relies on its I-formation run game, and Hillcrest’s offensive linemen stand foot to foot like a double-wing team.

As the game changes and evolves into basketball on grass, the teams hanging a state championship banner this weekend still adhere to the sport’s oldest principles — run the ball, stop the run and a hit harder than your opponent.

“I guess I’m just kind of old fashioned and want to control the football,” Bishop Kelly coach Tim Brennan said. “... We’ll run some pistol, but I still want to have our quarterback get under center. I just feel like that’s traditional football.

“Our kids are physical, hard-nosed kids, and they do a great job with it.”

5A: Rocky Mountain vs. Highland, 10 a.m. Sat. at Albertsons Stadium

Let’s get it out of the way: No one likes a 10 a.m. kickoff. But that was the only option available as Boise State hosts a basketball doubleheader Friday night, then a private event at the Stueckle Sky Center and a concert at Taco Bell Arena on Saturday evening.

“Whenever I found out, I asked everybody, ‘How many of you guys have played Optimist football?,’” Culig said. “A bunch of hands shot up. I said, ‘Well, this going to be just like Optimist again.

“Everybody would prefer it to be a little bit later, but there’s not a lot of complaining.”

The early kick time forced Highland (10-1) to book hotel rooms Friday night and may sap some energy from the crowd. But it shouldn’t affect a matchup of two of the state’s top programs.

Highland takes the field for its 19th state championship game and has 11 titles under its belt, more than anyone since the IHSAA playoffs began in 1979. Rocky Mountain (11-0) played in and won its only title in 2015, but it has quickly established itself as a perennial power.

The two met in last year’s semifinal, which Highland won 26-3 at Rocky Mountain as current Ohio State defensive lineman Tommy Togiai dominated the game. He graduated, but the Rams return a state championship-winning quarterback, Kobe Tracy, and their top offensive weapon, running back Landon Demuzio.

Rocky Mountain couldn’t contain Demuzio a year ago as he racked up 174 total yards, ran for a TD and threw for another. That can’t happen again if the Grizzlies want to hang another banner.

“He’s got a nice jump cut, and he doesn’t come down on first contact very often,” Culig said. “When I watch film from last year, we missed tackles or missed some assignments. But watching him all year against everybody he’s played, he’s getting yards and a lot of people are missing him.”

Mariani said Demuzio (1,831 total yards, 20 TDs this fall) needs 20 or more touches a game. Getting him on track early against the state’s top run defense remains the key to staying ahead of the downs and avoiding Rocky Mountain’s exotic blitzes.

“You can’t get into second-and-long, third-and-long situations where they can pull everything out of the playbook and run it at you,” Mariani said.

Highland’s defense has its own elite running back to contain in Nick Romano, who leads 5A with 1,901 rushing yards and 30 TDs. He’s only failed to top 100 rushing yards twice this season when he took a spot on the bench in blowout wins against Timberline and Boise.

“He’s going to get his yards. That’s a given,” Mariani said. “He’s too good to stop completely. But the biggest thing is we’ve got to make him earn everything. We can’t give up the big 75-yard run or 60-yard run for big chunk yardage. Those are the killers.”

Highland struggled to do that against Coeur d’Alene earlier this season, surrendering 256 rushing yards to Shilo Morgan and quarterback Kale Edwards. Rocky Mountain held the duo to 89 yards last week, spelling trouble for the Rams and a second state title for the Grizzlies.

Rocky Mountain 28, Highland 24

4A: Hillcrest vs. Bishop Kelly, 1 p.m. Sat. at Albertsons Stadium

These two teams share more than a mascot. They enter the title game as near mirror images of each other.

Both would run the ball on every down if possible. Both pride themselves on shutting down the run. And both tip the scales with enough heft to do it no matter the opponent.

Hillcrest (11-1) enters running for 335 yards per game with two 1,000-yard rushers in running back Oakley Hussey (1,225 yards, 11 TDs) and quarterback Kyle Austin (1,024 yards, 14 TDs). Meanwhile, Bishop Kelly (10-1) runs for 269 yards a game with tailback Ian Arellano (1,335 yards, 19 TDs) leading the way.

But all of them will struggle to gain traction Saturday as Hillcrest holds opponents to 64 rushing yards per game and BK 105.

“It’s gonna be an interesting game because both teams want to run,” Brennan said. “It might not last real long.”

Brennan said his team will have to out physical Hillcrest, maintain control of the gaps and force the Knights from Idaho Falls to bounce runs outside. That should sound familiar to every Bishop Kelly opponent, as that’s been the Knights’ game plan for years. Few have found success.

“We’re going to have to try to control the ball and not have any negative plays,” Brennan said. “That’s a big key, not having negative plays and getting the ball forward and getting first downs. It may take four downs to get it, but we need to make sure we move the ball forward.”

Settle in for a bruising battle. But with the way Hillcrest has run the ball lately — 579 yards against Nampa, 465 yards against Middleton — the state trophy heads back to Eastern Idaho this year.

Hillcrest 21, Bishop Kelly 17

3A: Sugar-Salem vs. Homedale, 1 p.m. Sat. at Middleton

One program will make history Saturday. Homedale (11-0) has never won a 3A state title and last earned a 2A title in 1997. Meanwhile, Sugar-Salem (9-1) returns to its first championship game since 1988 and has never won a title at any level.

That’s hard to believe given how both the Trojans and Diggers have dominated opponents this season. Homedale has only trailed twice — 8-7 against Melba and 3-0 against Weiser. Both were in the first quarter en route to blowout wins.

The Trojans have proven they can do it both through the air and on the ground. Daniel Uranga has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,120 yards with 25 TDs and eight interceptions. And tailback Mason Kincheloe has punished any defense that sells out to defend the pass with 1,689 yards and 21 TDs on the ground, including 537 yards and five TDs in two playoff games.

“It’s like playing with a full deck,” Homedale coach Matt Holtry said of his team’s balance. “... With all those tools, it forces defenses to play you sideline to sideline and 30 yards deep, if not further.”

Sugar-Salem poses plenty of challenges with its explosive Wing-T. Dual-threat quarterback Tanner Harris runs the show, and the Diggers have three other running backs with 300 or more yards, forcing the Trojans to play them straight up.

Holtry called Sugar-Salem the most athletic team Homedale has faced all season. The Diggers bring 3A’s top defense into the game at 9.9 points to Homedale’s 12. But the vast majority of points scored against Homedale came with the game already decided.

Homedale 28, Sugar-Salem 21

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This story was originally published November 15, 2018 at 6:01 PM.