Defending 5A football champ put on upset alert before pulling out its 13th straight win
It wasn’t pretty by any means. But it was still a win.
Borah gave the state’s defending 5A state champion and unanimous No. 1 team all it could handle in Thursday’s high school football season opener. But a veteran Rocky Mountain squad showed why it sits atop everyone’s rankings, grinding with Borah for three quarters before scoring 20 unanswered points in the fourth for a 35-15 victory at Dona Larsen Park.
“They had some success and I don’t think we expected them to,” Rocky Mountain coach Chris Culig said. “It kind of caught us off guard, and then we settled down.”
Rocky Mountain (1-0, 1-0 5A SIC) entered the season as the heavy league and state favorite with 13 returning starters from last season’s undefeated squad. But Borah, picked to finish seventh in the 10-team 5A SIC, had Rocky Mountain on the ropes entering the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 15.
The Lions sidelined Rocky Mountain’s explosive offense, milking the clock with an option offense led by quarterback Austin Bolt and capitalizing on three turnovers. Borah moved into position for a fourth-quarter lead until Rocky Mountain’s Caleb Campbell tipped a Bolt pass and Xander Nawahine intercepted at the Grizzlies’ 10-yard line.
“That was everything,” Nawahine said. “That changed the whole mood of the game. It was close the whole time, and it just kind of shifted the tide of the war.”
Rocky Mountain answered with a 12-play, 90-yard drive that Devon Fox capped with a 3-yard touchdown run to break the tie. The Grizzlies then stopped Bolt on fourth down on the ensuing drive, setting up a 23-yard TD run from Jordan Erickson, his third of the night.
Rocky Mountain ended any thoughts of a Borah rally when defensive end Jacob Piscione returned an interception 66 yards to the end zone with 54 seconds left. But none of the Grizzlies celebrated Thursday’s win as a blowout.
Culig has preached all summer that last season’s success doesn’t carry over to 2019. As the defending state champ, they have a mile-wide target on their back every night. Thursday proved it. So if the Grizzlies plan on repeating, this year’s team will have to earn it on their own.
“Every play we come out, we’ve got something to prove,” Nawahine said. “We are not the same undefeated team. We are a new team, and we’ve got everything to prove.”
Bolt turned in another Herculean performance for Borah. The reigning first-team All-Idaho selection in football and basketball stepped under center as the Lions’ full-time quarterback, running for 48 yards and a touchdown while completing 12-of-18 passes for 135 yards and another score.
But that was only the start of his night. Bolt made two interceptions as a safety. The Lions took a shot downfield with him at wide receiver. He returned kickoffs and punts. And he served as the punter and held for the Lions’ field-goal kicker.
The only time he came off the field was on kickoff coverage.
Borah largely hit the reset button this fall with just Bolt and one returning starter alongside him on each side of the ball. But despite their preseason ranking, the Lions showed they can remain a factor in the 5A SIC race.
“I like where we’re at,” Borah coach Jason Burton said. “We’ve just got to come back in and correct those mistakes. We are the SEC of Idaho. Every game is going to be tough.”
Borah hosts Skyview on Thursday at Dona Larsen Park next week, while Rocky Mountain travels to rival Mountain View on Friday.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 46, TIMBERLINE 6
Second-ranked Mountain View started the season with a bang Thursday. Sophomore Leyton Smithson ran for 132 yards and two TDs, and he also caught another TD. Mountain View quarterback Jake Farris finished 13-of-19 for 140 yards and three TDs as the Mavericks’ defense held Timberline to 160 total yards.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN 35, BORAH 15
Rocky Mtn | 0 | 15 | 0 | 20 | —35 | |
Borah | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | —15 |
First quarter
BOR — Austin Baker 51 pass from Austin Bolt (Josh Rausch kick), 3:55
Second quarter
RM — Jordan Erickson 2 run (Colby Jackson to Noah Kraft pass), 5:01
RM — Erickson 1 run (Steven Stoddard kick), 0:00
Third quarter
BOR — Bolt 1 run (Bolt run), 7:05
Fourth quarter
RM — Devon Fox 3 run (Stoddard kick), 6:16
RM — Erickson 23 run (Stoddard kick), 4:01
RM — Jacob Piscione 66 interception return (kick failed), 0:54
Individual leaders
RUSHING — Rocky Mtn: Jordan Erickson 15-87, Devon Fox 4-12, Kobe Warr, 2-6, Colby Jackson 3-5. Borah: Austin Bolt 25-48, Cameron Pruitt 9-30, Tyler Phimmasone 3-6, Alec Gray 1-(-1), Isaac Niederer 1-(-1).
PASSING — Rocky Mtn: Jackson 13-21-2 146; Warr 1-1-0 8. Borah: Bolt 12-18-2 135; Gray 2-5-1 19.
RECEIVING — Rocky Mtn: Kaden Birch 3-71, Elijah Almanza 4-38, Noah Kraft 2-21, Max Nead 2-17, Erickson 2-5, Fox 1-2. Borah: Austin Baker 3-71, Pruitt 6-29, Salavador Jimenez 1-22, Niederer 2-19, Dylan Gardner 2-13.
MTN VIEW 46, TIMBERLINE 6
Timberline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | —6 | |
Mtn View | 8 | 28 | 7 | 3 | —46 |
First quarter
MV — Leyton Smithson 36 run (Jake Farris to Colby Peugh pass), 11:02
Second quarter
MV —Peugh 25 pass from Farris (run failed), 12:00
MV — Smithson 1 run (Jones run), 4:42
MV — K.J. Lynch 23 pass from Farris (Ethan Holland kick), 3:30
Third quarter
MV — Steven Butler 1 run (Holland kick), 9:30
Fourth quarter
MV — Holland 19 kick, 11:56
Individual leaders
RUSHING — Mountain View: Leyton Smithson 20-132, Steven Butler 12-56, Jake Farris 4-13, Bronx Barrus 2-8, Colby Peugh 2-2, Zach Cameron 1-1, Chase Lindsey 1-(-1)
PASSING — Mountain View: Farris 13-19-1 140; Seth Jones 1-2-0 27; Cameron 3-6-0 8; Smithson 1-3-0 6.
RECEIVING — Mountain View: K.J. Lynch 6-59, Kayden Chan 4-51, Peugh 2-30, Smithson 2-28, Aser Mpoyi 1-7, Keaton Horn 1-5, Drew Carter 2-1.
Timberline stats not reported.
This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 11:29 PM.
