Idaho’s state football playoffs start next week. Who’s in, who’s out and who needs help?
The final week of the high school football season is upon us. And that leaves fans, coaches and players everywhere eyeing the playoffs and wondering where their team will go.
Fear not. We broke down all the dizzying scenarios for every team in the Treasure Valley heading into the final week, leaving you to sit back and enjoy the game while keeping an eye on the out-of-town scoreboard at IdahoStatesman.com.
5A SIC
Playoff berths: Six automatic
Conference champ: Mountain View or Rocky Mountain
Clinched playoff spot: Mountain View, Rocky Mountain
Eliminated: Owyhee, Boise
This much we know: Mountain View (8-0) hosts Rocky Mountain (7-1) for the league title. The winner gets the league’s top spot at state and a bye into the quarterfinals. The loser also receives a bye into the quarterfinals.
The rest is up for grabs Thursday and Friday.
No one else has clinched a playoff berth, making the four cross-division games even more important. The winner of each gets an automatic spot in the playoffs. The losers must hope for the single at-large playoff berth (down from two last year).
More on that later. These are the matchups and seeds:
Skyview (Foothills 5) vs. Borah (River 2) at Dona Larsen, 7 p.m. Thursday
Kuna (River 5) at Eagle (Foothills 2), 7 p.m. Friday
Centennial (River 4) at Meridian (Foothills 3), 7 p.m. Friday
Timberline (Foothills 4) vs. Capital (River 3) at Dona Larsen, 7 p.m. Friday
The winners take the West 3, West 4, West 5 and West 6 places in the state playoff bracket. Those seeds will follow the division seeds above. Head-to-head results and MaxPreps rankings break any ties.
Eagle: The Mustangs (6-2) claim the West 3 seed with a win over Kuna. They hold a tiebreaker over Borah thanks to their sizable lead in the MaxPreps rankings.
Borah: The Lions (5-3) need to win and see Eagle lose to take the West 3 seed. Wins by Borah and Eagle make the Lions the West 4.
Meridian: The Warriors (5-3) could rise to West 3 only with a win and losses by both Borah and Eagle. A win and a single loss by Borah or Eagle would make Meridian the West 4. A win and wins by Borah and Eagle make Meridian the West 5.
Capital: With a head-to-head loss to Meridian, the Eagles (5-3) can climb to West 3 only with a win and losses by Borah, Eagle and Meridian. A win and losses by Meridian and Borah or Eagle makes Capital the West 4. A win, wins by Borah and Eagle, and a loss by Meridian makes Capital the West 5. A win and wins by Borah, Eagle and Meridian makes Capital the West 6.
Timberline: The Wolves (5-3) can climb to West 3 with a win and losses by Borah, Eagle and Meridian. A win and losses by any two of Borah, Eagle or Meridian makes Timberline the West 4. A win and a loss by one of Borah, Eagle or Meridian makes Timberline the West 5. A win and no losses from Borah, Eagle and Meridian makes Timberline the West 6.
Centennial: The Patriots’ (2-6) ceiling is West 4 due to a sizable deficit to Timberline in the MaxPreps rankings. A win and losses by Borah and Eagle makes Centennial the West 4. A win and a single loss from Borah or Eagle makes Centennial the West 5. A win and no losses by Borah or Eagle makes Centennial the West 6.
Skyview: The Hawks’ (4-4) ceiling is West 5, which it can reach only with a win and an Eagle loss to Kuna. A win and an Eagle win makes Skyview the West 6.
Kuna: The Kavemen (1-7) cannot finish any better than West 6 due to a large deficit to Skyview in the MaxPreps rankings. A win and any scenario makes Kuna the West 6.
At-large berth: Losers of the cross-division round fall into a pool of teams from around the state for the single at-large playoff berth. The best record in the pool against 5A opponents gets the bid.
Myriad possibilities in North and East Idaho make the bid difficult to predict. But this would be the order of Boise-area teams if they all lost: Eagle (62% vs. 5A), Borah (62%), Meridian (55%), Capital or Timberline (50%).
Centennial, Skyview and Kuna cannot earn the at-large berth.
4A SIC
Playoff berths: Four automatic
Conference champ: Emmett
Clinched playoff spot: Emmett, Bishop Kelly, Nampa
Eliminated: None
Emmett wrapped up the league title a week ago, ensuring it a top five seed in the playoff bracket.
Bishop Kelly and Nampa will finish second and third, respectively, in the SIC. But those finishes do not matter. All teams that didn’t win their league are seeded sixth to 16th via MaxPreps rankings regardless of conference standings or whether they earned one of four at-large berths.
At-large berths are also awarded via MaxPreps rankings.
Middleton: The Vikings (4-4, 3-3) clinch the fourth and final automatic playoff berth with a win over Columbia or a Vallivue loss at Emmett. A loss and a Vallivue win drops Middleton into the at-large pool. It enters the week No. 12 in the MaxPreps rankings, a ranking that would fall with a loss and put the Vikings in jeopardy.
Vallivue: The Falcons (4-4, 3-3) need to win at Emmett and see Middleton lose to Columbia to grab the final automatic playoff berth. Otherwise, Vallivue must rely on an at-large berth. It enters the week on the bubble at No. 14 in the MaxPreps rankings.
Columbia, Ridgevue and Caldwell: None can earn an automatic playoff berth, leaving them all to rely on the at-large path.
MaxPreps’ formula is not public, so no one is ever truly eliminated until the final rankings come out. But there would have to be a major shakeup for Columbia (No. 22), Ridgevue (No. 24) or Caldwell (No. 26) to climb high enough for an at-large bid.
3A SRV
Playoff berths: Three
Conference champ: Homedale
Clinched playoff spot: Homedale, Weiser
Eliminated: Parma
The league’s top two spots are already decided. Homedale (8-0, 4-0) is the league champ and gets a bye into the quarterfinals. Weiser (7-1, 3-1) is the second seed.
That leaves three teams fighting for the last playoff spot. If they end Friday tied, they would play a three-way, Kansas City tiebreaker to determine the final playoff berth.
Payette: The Pirates (4-4, 2-2) control their own destiny. Beat McCall-Donnelly and the Pirates make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. A loss and a Fruitland win eliminates Payette.
Fruitland: The Grizzlies (4-3, 2-2) must beat Homedale and see Payette fall to McCall-Donnelly to qualify outright. A Payette win eliminates Fruitland.
McCall-Donnelly: The Vandals (3-4, 1-3) must hope for a three-way tie and to then win the Kansas City tiebreaker. They must beat Payette and see Fruitland lose to create that scenario.
2A WIC
Playoff berths: One automatic
Conference champ: Nampa Christian, Cole Valley Christian or Melba
Clinched playoff spot: None
Eliminated: None
The conference receives only one guaranteed playoff spot, which also comes with a first-round bye.
Nampa Christian (7-1, 3-1) has that berth all but locked up as it faces Cole Valley Christian (5-2, 2-1). Cole Valley would need to beat the Trojans by 14 or more points to throw the league into a three-way tie with Melba (5-3, 3-1). A coin flip would then break the tie.
Nampa Christian wins the league title in all other scenarios, including a loss by 13 or fewer points.
The rest of the league will have to hope for one of six at-large berths awarded via MaxPreps rankings. The 2A WIC didn’t receive any at-large berths last year. But Melba and Cole Valley enter the week ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, giving them an inside track.
New Plymouth (No. 13) and Marsing (No. 20) need teams in front of them to fall to make the 12-team playoff. Playing each other doesn’t give either a significant resume boost.
1A DIVISION I WIC
Playoff berths: One automatic
Conference champ: Notus or Wilder
Clinched playoff spot: None
Eliminated: None
Notus (7-1, 3-0) hosts Wilder (5-2, 3-0) for the conference title Friday. The winner gets an automatic playoff berth and a bye into the quarterfinals. The loser will have to compete for one of seven at-large bids awarded via MaxPreps rankings.
Notus enters the week ranked seventh, leaving it in strong position for one of 12 playoff spots even with a loss. Wilder, ranked 14th, would have a tough time advancing with a loss.
Rimrock (No. 16) must upset Castleford (No. 3 in 1A Division II) for a shot at an at-large berth. Idaho City (No. 23) and Greenleaf (No. 24) are all but mathematically eliminated.
1A DIVISION II LONG PIN
Playoff berths: Three
Conference champ: Horseshoe Bend or Council
Clinched playoff spot: Horseshoe Bend, Council, Garden Valley
Eliminated: Salmon River, Tri-Valley
Horseshoe Bend (7-0, 3-0) hosts Council (5-1, 3-0) for the league title Friday. The winner gets a bye into the quarterfinals. The loser finishes as the league’s second seed.
Garden Valley (3-5, 2-2) has already wrapped up the league’s third playoff spot and has the week off.
This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 4:57 PM.
