The first 5A SIC football championship matchup is set. Two perennial powers will battle.
Constant change has defined the 2020 high school football season in the Treasure Valley. But as it draws to a close, some familiarity has emerged.
Rocky Mountain relied on the same formula that made it a state powerhouse — a dominant run game and a ball-hawking defense — to beat Meridian 31-14 on Friday night, wrapping up its third straight undefeated regular season.
The No. 3-ranked Grizzlies (5-0, 5-0 5A SIC West Division) ran for 387 yards and forced four turnovers to clinch a spot in the first Southern Idaho Conference championship game next week. The two-time defending league champ will host Capital (4-0, 4-0 5A SIC East Division) in the league title game at 7 p.m. Oct. 23.
“Dividing into two leagues, even though everybody kind of hemmed and hawed about it, it’s kind of fun,” Rocky Mountain coach Chris Culig said. “We were going to do that anyway. But now that it’s East vs. West, Boise vs. Meridian, that’s kind of cool.”
The global coronavirus pandemic repeatedly threw wrenches into the 2020 season, ranging from a late start, to new sanitation procedures to a midseason reshuffle of which teams played in what division in the 5A SIC.
The first, true SIC championship game won’t have the anticipated atmosphere. Ada County fell this week into the red category of community spread, the highest in Idaho’s back-to-school guidelines designed to combat the virus. So the West Ada School District will not allow fans into its stadiums starting Monday.
But Rocky Mountain senior safety Xander Nawahine said he was excited nonetheless.
“It’s crazy. A lot of things haven’t happened before this year,” Nawahine said. “I’m thinking of it as another game and another chance to get better.”
Clinching a spot in that game and a chance to defend its league title was anything but a cakewalk Friday.
Rocky Mountain only needed 90 seconds to find the end zone as Beau Taylor intercepted a pass on the game’s second play. Three straight Jordan Erickson runs later, the Grizzlies grabbed a 6-0 lead.
Rocky Mountain jumped out to a 17-0 lead, scoring on its first three drives. But Meridian’s (3-2, 3-2 5A SIC West) defense stiffened as the Warriors rallied to cut the lead to 17-14 by halftime.
The score remained that way until a pair of Nawahine interceptions finally turned the tide and allowed Rocky Mountain to pull away in the fourth quarter.
Culig said his team spent the bye week harping on creating turnovers. The Grizzlies normally force them in bunches, a key to leading the state in scoring defense two years in a row.
They only had forced six turnovers through four games this year. But Friday’s four-turnover feeding frenzy eased some concerns.
“It’s a great feeling, especially that first drive when Beaux got his pick,” Nawahine said. “That kind of set the tone and we just got rolling.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Erickson, Max Lehman and Arthur Williams teamed up to run the ball down Meridian’s throat. Erickson only had 15 carries this season entering the night as Rocky Mountain used him in a jack-of-all-trades role, often lining him up as a receiver.
But the Grizzlies fed him early and often, and he finished with 115 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.
Lehman ran for 157 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and Williams added 87 yards on 13 carries.
Rocky Mountain finished the game with 64 run plays to 13 passes as Meridian struggled to stop the run.
“We’re all kind of different styles of runners,” said Erickson, who entered the season with five Division I scholarship offers. “But it’s nice to be able to switch in and out, and get fresh legs and be able to run a ton.”
Friday marked the end of the regular season for the 5A SIC. Next week stands as a pseudo-district tournament as teams from the West and East divisions play crossover games to determine seeding for the state playoffs.
Teams must win their crossover game to clinch a playoff berth. But losers remain eligible for one of the state’s two at-large playoff spots.
The winner of the conference championship game gets the league’s top seed in the 5A state playoffs. But both teams receive a first-round bye regardless of the outcome.
Meridian finished third in the West Division and will host Borah (0-4), the fourth seed in the East Division, next week.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 11:44 PM.
