Prep football roundup: Conference title, playoff races heating up in final weeks
The Emmett High School football team rallied from an early deficit to beat Middleton 50-27 and keep pace in a heated race for the 4A SIC title.
The come-from-behind win keeps Emmett (5-2, 4-1 4A SIC) in a four-way tie for first place with Bishop Kelly, Nampa and Vallivue with two weeks left in the regular season.
The Huskies trailed 14-0 early and 21-16 at halftime before locking down Middleton’s vaunted Air Raid offense, holding it to six points in the second half.
Emmett took its first lead when Caden Young hit Caseyn Pearson for a 37-yard TD pass in the third quarter. Young finished 11-of-15 for 171 yards and a TD through the air. He also ran for 108 yards and two TDs, and he returned a pick-six interception 91 yards to seal the game.
Westyn Smith ran for 220 yards and three TDs, including two in the fourth quarter as Emmett scored 27 points in the final frame.
The loss puts Middleton (4-3, 2-3) in jeopardy of missing out on one of the conference’s four guaranteed playoff berths. The Vikings would then have to rely on earning one of 4A’s four at-large berths in the postseason.
Quartberback Ky McClure finished 24-of-44 for 297 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Vikings.
Boise 41, Borah 31
The Brave (1-3, 1-3 5A SIC East) snapped a 13-game losing streak and extended their season with a home win over their district rival.
The win keeps Boise alive in the playoff hunt and eliminates Borah (0-3, 0-3) from the postseason. The last-place team in the 5A SIC East Division is automatically eliminated. Boise will finish fourth in the 5A SIC East Division and will face the third-place team from the West Division in the crossdivision round Oct. 23.
No details were reported.
Highland 38, Skyview 23
The Hawks put a scare in the perennial power from Pocatello, taking a 23-21 lead in the second quarter. But No. 4-ranked Highland (6-1) scored 10 quick points before halftime to retake control and hold on.
Highland QB Easton Durham finished with 334 total yards and five TDs, and Kaleb Demuzio added a combined 169 yards rushing and receiving.
Quarterback Clayton Frannsen led Skyview (2-2), completing 20-of-37 passes for 263 yards and a TD. Atonio Fifita ran for 20 yards and two TDs on nine carries.
Nampa 47, Ridgevue 21
Ridgevue led 14-12 before Nampa’s Joey Anguiano scored on a pick-six interception with 59 seconds left before halftime. The Bulldogs (4-1, 4-1 4A SIC) then erupted for 28 points in the second half to run away from the Warhawks (1-5, 0-5).
Nampa QB Colton Seable threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half. Seable finished the night 5-of-10 for 237 yards and four TDs. Ty Frickey caught three passes and turned them all into touchdowns and 139 yards.
Ridgevue quarterback Carter Menchaca ran for 64 yards and three TDs. He was also 7-of-12 for 67 yards passing.
Vallivue 34, Columbia 7
The Falcons’ defense held Columbia to 116 total yards and fell 2:37 short of their second shutout of the season.
Vallivue (6-1, 4-1 4A SIC) quarterback Casey Cope continued his torrid pace, finishing with 258 total yards and four TDs. He also threw three interceptions. Lincoln Marler was his top receiver, finishing with nine catches for 93 yards and a TD.
The Wildcats (2-3, 2-3) scored their only points on a 3-yard TD pass from Nick Earls to Jacob Scott in the waning minutes.
Homedale 54, Payette 0
Homedale scored six of its eight touchdowns on the ground in a runaway victory over Payette (3-3, 1-2 3A SRV).
Keagen Christensen had two rushing TDs for the Trojans (4-1, 3-0), and Milo Mertz, Andrew Marston, Hayden Kincheloe and Rylan Binford each contributed one rushing score.
Quarterback Jaxon Dines threw touchdown passes to Mertz and Mason Strong to round out the scoring for Homedale.
Payette, which was limited to -6 rushing yards, was paced by quarterback Abe Rodriguez, who completed 14-of-22 passes for 108 yards.
Weiser 28, McCall-Donnelly 7
Willy Shirts racked up 177 of Weiser’s 296 rushing yards to spearhead a win against McCall-Donnelly (1-3, 0-2 3A SRV).
Shirts reached the end zone twice on 26 carries and also went went 3-for-3 on PATs for the Wolverines (3-3, 2-1).
Weiser quarterback Brett Spencer went 4-for-10 passing with one touchdown, and he helped his own cause with two interceptions on the defensive end.
McCall-Donnelly was limited to 126 yards of offense, and QB DJ Green scored the Vandals’ only TD on a 15-yard run in the first quarter.
Melba 44, New Plymouth 14
The No. 3-ranked Mustangs (4-1, 3-0) took control of the 2A WIC race, opening a two-game lead on the rest of the conference with two weeks left. Melba can win its first conference title since 2004 with a victory at home over Nampa Christian next week.
Melba QB Henry Clark had a hand in three TDs (two passing, one rushing). And Zane Helms also ran for a touchdown.
Spencer Lyman (110 rushing yards) and Javon Lindeman (96 rushing yards) combined to lead New Plymouth (3-3, 1-1).
Declo 60, Nampa Christian 29
Declo QB Gabe Matthews ran for 406 yards and seven TDs to lead the No. 5-ranked Hornets (5-2) to a come-from-behind, nonconference road win.
Nampa Christian (3-4) led 23-14 midway through the second quarter before Declo outscored it 46-6 the rest of the way.
Landon Cheney led Nampa Christian, finishing 21-of-35 for 247 yards and three TDs through the air. He also led the team with 56 rushing yards.
Cole Valley Christian 7, Marsing 6
No details were reported.
Notus 62, Rimrock 6
Carter Woodland and Elijah Martin each ran for 100-plus yards to lead Notus to 1A D-I WIC win on the road at Rimrock (1-4, 1-2).
Martin totaled 113 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries and had 30 receiving yards and another score. Martin kept up his torrid pace on defense with seven tackles and an interception. Woodland finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries to go with three 2-point conversions.
Kieran Miraz paced the Pirates (6-0, 3-0) on defense with seven tackles, one sack and one interception.
Wilder 64, Idaho City 54
Wilder came all the way back from a 42-14 halftime deficit to steal a victory from Idaho City (1-4, 1-2 1A D-I WIC).
Wilder’s Diego Rodriguez was 20-of-28 for 356 yards and five TDs, and he ran for two more scores. Jose Leon caught 10 passes for 233 yards and three TDs for Wilder (4-2, 2-0).
No stats were provided for Idaho City.
Horseshoe Bend 56, Tri-Valley 20
Horseshoe Bend (5-1, 2-0) stayed in the hunt for the 1A D-II Long Pin title with a win against Tri-Valley (0-4, 0-3).
Quarterback Colten Meyer finished with 249 yards and four touchdowns through the air to go with 65 rushing yards and another score. Caedmon Graham caught two TD passes from Meyer.
The Mustangs’ defensive effort was paced by Keagan Smith (14 tackles) and Decker Larson (7 tackles, 1 sack).
No stats were reported for Tri-Valley.
Garden Valley 49, Council 0
No details were reported.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 11:13 PM.
