High school football: Picks, predictions and the top 5 games to watch in ‘Week 0’
No, your eyes don’t deceive you. Friday marks an obscenely early start to the high school football season.
Twenty-eight Idaho teams start their season this weekend, including 16 in the greater Treasure Valley. But you better get used to it. The days of Labor Day weekend kickoffs are long gone.
Three factors continue to push the season earlier and earlier.
One, school-year calendars continue to eat up more and more of August.
Two, the 5A Southern Idaho Conference grew to 13 teams this fall. That odd number creates scheduling headaches — headaches that an extra week in August helps alleviate.
And three, the Idaho High School Activities Association threw the doors open for “Week 0” games. Previously, schools had to petition the IHSAA for approval to play early. Now, anyone can play early if they want.
Insurance policies still require 10 practices before any high schooler can strap on pads for a full-contact game. But as teams barely cross that threshold and the Western Idaho Fair doesn’t even start until Friday, don’t expect the crispest routes, surest tackling and smoothest handoffs on opening night.
The teams that take the field the first week rarely look much like the ones in October. That will be doubly true this fall. But here are the top five games to keep an eye on as Kenny Chesney’s “Boys of Fall” turn into Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”
EAGLE AT MERIDIAN
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
Both teams suffered heartbreaking losses in the state semifinals last season. A walk-off field goal kept Eagle out of the finals, while the Warriors fell in triple overtime to eventual state champ Rigby.
After an offseason to stew on those losses, neither eases into the 2022 schedule. Meridian tied for second in the 5A SIC preseason coaches’ poll, and Eagle finished fourth, providing an early statement game for both.
Eagle has won 15 in a row over the Warriors, none more exciting than last year’s affair. The Mustangs scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to top their West Ada rival 24-23, with Roy Hull scoring the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 23 seconds left.
Hull, Deegan Martinho and Ian Duarte all return as Eagle fields another squad loaded with offensive firepower. But that firepower will meet Meridian’s strength. The Warriors bring back nine of 11 starters from the state’s second-toughest defense.
Prediction: Meridian 22, Eagle 20
CAPITAL VS. BORAH
Location: Dona Larsen Park
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
The season kicks off with the largest rivalry matchup in the city of Boise.
Capital once owned its crosstown rival, winning 14 in a row against the Lions through 2014. But Borah has turned the tables, winning three of the past four matchups. And it enters the game as a clear favorite.
The Lions are a trendy pick to make some noise in the 5A SIC this season, finishing fifth out of 13 teams in a preseason coaches’ poll. Borah returns 13 starters (seven offense, six defense). But Parker Rushton remains the one everybody has their eyes on after leading the 5A classification with 1,227 rushing yards last fall.
Meanwhile, Capital finished eighth in the 5A SIC’s preseason coaches’ poll, which is unheard of for a program that has made the playoffs 15 years in a row. But the Eagles have a first-year coach and bring back only three starters (two offense, one defense).
Prediction: Borah 35, Capital 21
ROCKY MOUNTAIN AT MIDDLETON
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: IdahoSports.com
The first meeting between these two programs stands as the only game on the schedule affecting the division or conference standings.
Middleton brings plenty of pedigree as it moves up to the 5A ranks. The Vikings have made the 4A playoffs eight years in a row, and Middleton coach Bill Brock stands as the 5A and 4A SIC’s active leader in career wins, at 239.
But the Vikings get a rude welcome with perennial power Rocky Mountain to open the season. The Grizzlies are the heavy favorite in the 5A SIC and in the preseason state media poll. And with future Division I players all over the field, it’s not hard to see why.
Prediction: Rocky Mountain 41, Middleton 13
KUNA AT CENTENNIAL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
Kuna allowed the most points per game last fall (41.9) at the 5A level, and Centennial the second-most (40.8). So brace for a potential shootout as both teams enter the season looking to prove they’ve shored up their defenses.
That remains the key for both teams as they try to climb up the 5A SIC standings. And both enter the year with plenty of returning experience. All 11 starters on Kuna’s defense saw significant playing time last year, and Centennial brings back eight of 11 starters on defense.
How much will that help? We’ll find out Friday.
Prediction: Kuna 33, Centennial 28
LAGUNA BEACH (CALIF.) AT HOMEDALE
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
Homedale already owned one of the most picturesque fields in Idaho, with its stadium nestled along the banks of the Snake River. But the Trojans take it to the next level this year, debuting a new artificial turf field Friday night.
Boosters raised $600,000 for the new field, Homedale coach and principal Matt Holtry said. They timed it to coincide with a bond-approved revamp of the school’s track facility, lowering the cost because much of the groundwork was already in place for the track.
Holtry said the team won’t take the field for the first time until Thursday night as workers finish the project. That’s just in time for the four-time defending 3A SRV champ to host a rare Southern California team.
The Breakers (naturally) went 10-2 last season, and California enrollment numbers put them around 1,000 students. That presents a challenge for Homedale (363 students). But the Trojans debuted as 3A’s No. 1-ranked team in the preseason state media poll. And they return seven starters on both sides of the ball, including three-year starters at quarterback (Jaxon Dines) and wide receiver (Mason Strong).
Prediction: Laguna Beach 34, Homedale 27
