Prep football recap: Borah tops rival again. Rocky runs away. Boise posts 40-point flurry
Borah High capitalized on a frantic couple of minutes midway through the second quarter Friday night to earn a season-opening win over Capital 29-20 at Dona Larsen Park. It’s the third straight victory for Borah over its rival.
The Lions were led by senior running back Jevon Nelson, who made his return from a junior-year meniscus tear to finish the game with 192 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. His night was highlighted by a 68-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.
“Jevon’s a great player; we’ve known that for a while,” Borah coach JQ Kenyon said. “The speed with the power is just going to wear them down, especially with that huge offensive line up front that he can run behind.”
The two teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, with Capital junior quarterback AJ Danaha connecting with junior wide receiver Austin Brown for the opener. It would be the first of three touchdown passes for Danaha, who finished the night with 87 total yards.
The Lions struck back late in the first quarter with a 10-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Jacob Detwiler to senior wide receiver Tanner Sittser.
Then the game got wild in the second quarter.
Borah (1-0) drove deep into Capital (0-1) territory before a pass to junior receiver Mason Monteleone was fumbled and recovered by Capital. But it took just one play for Borah defensive linemen Austin Flaherty and Clayton Hicks to blitz through the Capital defense and take down Danaha for a safety and a 9-7 lead.
The ensuing kickoff was returned 68 yards by Nelson, who broke three tackles along the way to a 16-7 lead.
“I thought I was going down, and I was like, ‘I can’t go down. We’ve got to score,’ ” Nelson said. “I looked up, put my head down, and somehow made it to the end zone.”
Kenyon described the play as a “huge momentum swing.”
Borah held the lead from that point on, leaning heavily on Nelson in the fourth quarter to kill the clock. The Lions put the lid on the game with an 11-play drive during which Nelson ran the ball seven times for 38 yards and the game-finishing touchdown.
“It was rough,” Nelson said when asked how his knee felt after the final quarter. “Running back is the hardest position, in my opinion. You’ve got to take hits. But at the end of the day, you win, and it all goes away.”
Boise 40, Timberline 28
Boise scored 40 consecutive points in the second game of the Dona Larsen Park doubleheader to post a comeback win against rival Timberline.
The Wolves (0-1) came out firing to start the game, building a 14-0 lead in part thanks to a 45-yard pick-six from senior Aiden Nixon. The two-way player finished the night with two of Timberline’s four interceptions, with the other two courtesy of sophomore defensive back Austin Engroff.
Despite the early hole and turnovers, Boise (1-0) stormed back to take a commanding 40-14 lead before Timberline scored a couple of late touchdowns.
“I told the boys that as poorly as we played in the first half with four turnovers, we were still one point down,” Boise coach Mike Altieri said. “It was still a close game, and after halftime, it was 0-0, and it was a new game. We had to come out fired up and ready to go.”
Boise ended the game with 249 passing and 200 rushing yards, led by senior running back Alex Hess, who finished with two 56-yard rushing touchdowns.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN 31, MIDDLETON 21
The Grizzlies forced four turnovers and scored 24 unanswered points at one point to pull away for a 5A SIC Foothills Division victory in the only in-division game of the night.
Brody Swearhart powered the outburst with a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Gunnar Thompson threw both of his two touchdowns as Rocky Mountain (1-0, 1-0) pulled away.
Thompson finished 16-of-27 for 195 yards. Jaryn Ikebe hauled in 13 passes for 87 yards and a score, and Kade Benedick finished with three catches for 61 yards and a TD.
Paxti Franks ran for 97 yards on 26 carries, while Cash Weeks and Cole Holman each ran for a TD for the Vikings (0-1, 0-1).
OWYHEE 24, MADISON 17
The Storm (1-0) opened the season with a win on the road in Rexburg.
Quarterback Matt Irwin ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the second-half comeback. The first gave Owyhee a 10-7 lead just after halftime, and the last one followed a Jack Young sack and forced fumble that set Owyhee up at the Madison 10-yard line.
Gage Haws also returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown.
Individual stats were not reported.
KUNA 20, CENTENNIAL 0
The Kavemen held Centennial to 109 total yards for the season-opening shutout. Diego Valencia led the Kuna (1-0) defense with seven tackles and an interception. Casey Neff added eight tackles, and Nick Stace had five tackles.
Two Kuna running backs topped 100 yards rushing. Austin Lattimer ran for 152 yards and a TD, and Luke Selto ran for 102 yards on eight carries.
Stats for Centennial were not reported.
SKYVIEW 29, ELKO (NV) 26
The Hawks trailed by 12 points in the fourth quarter. But Cache Beus punched in a 2-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds on a quarterback counter to complete the comeback.
Beus had a hand in four Skyview (1-0) touchdowns. He went 9-for-14 for 111 yards and three TDs to three different receivers, and he ran for 107 yards and the game-winning score in his debut after transferring from Melba.
Henry Downey added 60 yards rushing, and DJ Rosti led the receiving corps with three catches for 40 yards and a TD.
COLUMBIA 51, LOWRY (NV) 30
The Wildcats started the season with an offensive explosion behind quarterback Jared Payne and running back Ryan Foster.
Payne threw for 161 yards and three TDs, and he ran for 72 yards and another score. Foster racked up 108 total yards and three touchdowns. He also led the Columbia (1-0) defense with nine tackles and a sack.
Tight end Manie Wagner led the receivers, turning three catches into 88 yards and a pair of scores.
This story was originally published August 18, 2023 at 5:20 PM.
