Mark it down. Here’s who will win every Idaho football state championship this week
The unthinkable is here: Only a single Treasure Valley high school football team will play for a state championship this weekend.
Weiser (11-1) will battle three time-defending champ Sugar-Salem (8-2) for the 3A title Friday, leaving all of the Boise region’s hopes pinned on the small-town Wolverines from the Oregon border.
This marks an all-time low for the Treasure Valley. The region has never had just one team playing in the final weekend since Idaho added a third official playoff in 1979.
(Idaho previously crowned its champions by a poll of sports writers. The official IHSAA 2A playoffs began in 1977, followed by 3A in 1978 and 5A in 1979.)
So can Weiser salvage District Three’s reputation? And who will bring home a banner in the five other games? Read on to find out.
5A: RIGBY VS. HIGHLAND
Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello
When: 8:15 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
Rigby (10-1) may enter with a quarterback committed to Weber State (Tiger Adolpho) and a defensive lineman headed to BYU (Talin Togiai), but all eyes will turn to the growing legend of Highland (10-2) kicker Ian Hershey.
In the past two weeks, the senior has drilled field goals of 58, 52, 50, 45 and 40 yards to carry the Rams to the championship game. The 45-yarder proved to be the game-winner in a 22-21 win at Rocky Mountain. And the 40-yarder came as time expired in a 29-27 win at Eagle last week.
Hershey’s NFL-caliber ranges have quickly become the talk of the state. His golden right foot puts the Rams in scoring position as soon as they cross the 40-yard line. But perhaps most impressive is his strength under pressure.
He slipped and fell on the wet turf at Eagle last week as he warmed up for the game-winner, leading to catcalls throughout the stadium. But Hershey just motioned for the crowd to bring it on, then shut everyone up with a kick that would have cleared the uprights from 60 yards.
“That’s what I mean about his confidence. Right now, he’s riding so high. Get away from him because his head is this big,” Highland coach Gino Mariani said with a smile, stretching his arms as far as they could go. “But that’s fine.”
Rigby has won three straight against Highland, including a 44-21 win in Rigby earlier this year. The Trojans have pulled off what seemed impossible just a few short years ago — knocking the perennial power off its decades-long perch atop East Idaho.
But none of those three wins came inside Holt Arena. And in a postseason full of upsets, what’s one more?
Prediction: Highland 31, Rigby 29
4A: SANDPOINT VS. SKYLINE
Where: Kibbie Dome, Moscow
When: 8 p.m. (Mountain time) Friday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
Defending state champ Skyline (8-4) started the year as the preseason favorite. A 1-3 start saw the Grizzlies fall out of the state media poll, and they never returned. But Skyline gets the last laugh as it heads north to defend its title.
The Grizzlies remain built around quarterback Lachlan Haacke (2,261 pass yards, 33 TDs, nine interceptions) and an opportunistic defense. Skyline has forced a state-leading 25 turnovers for a +11 turnover margin — a far cry from last year when it won a title with a -12 turnover margin.
But Sandpoint (8-2) has won seven in a row. That includes a 29-28 overtime win over East Idaho champ Blackfoot last week when Parker Pettit scored on an option keeper on a do-or-die 2-point conversion in the extra period.
The Bulldogs also force turnovers in bunches (19 in 10 games, +10 margin). And they’ll get the short bus trip to Moscow.
Prediction: Skyline 22, Sandpoint 20
3A: WEISER VS. SUGAR-SALEM
Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello
When: 5:30 p.m. Friday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
Another team left for dead after a slow start, three-time defending state champ Sugar-Salem roared back to life with eight straight wins. That has the Diggers pounding their chests. Senior tight end/defensive lineman Boyd Sorensen laid down the gauntlet after last week’s 16-7 win at unanimous No. 1 Homedale.
“We’re ready to take it to Weiser,” Sorensen said. “We know they’re a hard-hitting team. But last year, we blew them out. And we’re gonna do it again.”
It’s hard to blame Sorensen for the confidence. Sugar-Salem beat Weiser 34-8 in the first round of last year’s playoffs. And the Diggers are gunning for history.
No Idaho team has won four straight state titles since Snake River won five in a row from 1998 to 2002 — under current Weiser coach Tom Harrison. So Harrison knows firsthand what it’s like to lead a team that just doesn’t think it can lose.
“That winning tradition that they’ve got going on, it makes it tough,” said Harrison, a winner of an Idaho record 10 state titles. “They believe. That’s an advantage.”
Sugar-Salem’s defense has led the Diggers’ resurgence. Opponents are averaging just eight points, 44 rushing yards and 165 total yards per game during Sugar-Salem’s winning streak.
The Diggers flexed those defensive muscles last week, bottling up Homedale while holding on to the ball for 30 minutes, 23 seconds. But they will face a new challenge in Weiser, 3A’s top scoring offense (41.5 ppg) and one that can put up points in the blink of an eye.
Senior quarterback Brett Spencer, who holds an offer from Idaho, runs the show. He shredded the Gooding defense for six touchdowns last week (five passing, one rushing). His ability to make something out of nothing with his athleticism and big arm gives the Wolverines an ace up their sleeve on every play.
But he and Weiser are at their most dangerous on play action, which requires the Wolverines to run the ball straight into the teeth of the Diggers’ defense. Few have done that successfully.
Prediction: Sugar-Salem 27, Weiser 22
2A: WEST SIDE VS. FIRTH
Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
Two-time defending state champ West Side (10-0) goes for its 32nd straight win and the 2A classification’s first three-peat in a rematch of last year’s championship.
The Pirates dominated that affair 39-0. The two met again in this year’s season opener, and Firth (9-2) kept it closer in a 26-20 loss. The Cougars are the only team to stay within three touchdowns of West Side this season, but they’ve still lost seven in a row to the Pirates.
West Side remains stacked on defense, allowing just 8.4 points per game. That’s not just the best mark not in 2A, but in all of Idaho.
Prediction: West Side 30, Firth 13
1AD1: RAFT RIVER VS. OAKLEY
Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
The longtime Snake River Conference rivals meet in another rematch of last year’s championships.
Raft River (9-0) took Round 1 earlier this season, topping Oakley 22-16 for the league crown. But the Trojans did the same last year only to watch Oakley (10-1) roar back with a 52-22 win in the finals.
Prediction: Raft River 27, Oakley 20
1AD2: KENDRICK VS. CAREY
Where: Kibbie Dome, Moscow
When: 2 p.m. (Mountain Time) Saturday
Watch: NFHS Network
Listen: IdahoSports.com
No. 1-ranked Carey (11-0) returns to the finals for the fifth straight year. Carey erased some of the memories of back-to-back second-place finishes with a 54-20 drubbing of Dietrich last week. But only a title can soothe the Panthers.
The game will feature two offensive juggernauts. Carey leads the 1A Division II ranks at 52.4 points per game, and Kendrick (8-2) ranks second at 50.2 points per game.
Kendrick gets a bit of home-field advantage at the Kibbie Dome. But Carey routed the Tigers there 40-14 in last year’s semifinals.
Prediction: Carey 39, Kendrick 26
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 1:43 PM.
