5A SIC division titles up for grabs this week. Who will win them, other top matchups?
The calendar may still read the first week of October, but titles are on the line this weekend.
Division crowns in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference could be decided Thursday and Friday night. Those titles come with a spot in the conference championship game and a guaranteed bye into the state quarterfinals.
But the action doesn’t stop at the 5A level. Key games to decide the 4A SIC and 3A Snake River Valley races are also on tap.
Here’s the breakdown of all the top matchups in Week 7.
MERIDIAN AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Thursday
This one is simple. The winner clinches the 5A SIC Foothills Division title and a spot in the conference title game in two weeks. The loser will need to win a Week 9 cross-division game to secure its playoff berth.
No. 4 Meridian (4-2, 3-0 Foothills) continues to claw its way back from a 0-2 start. Many wrote the Warriors off after back-to-back losses to Eagle and Mountain View, but then a road win at No. 2 Highland showed the Foothills Division, the Southern Idaho Conference and possibly the state title still might run through Meridian. The Warriors enter the home stretch of the season fully in control of their playoff destiny.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain (4-2, 3-0) has executed a midseason transformation, morphing into an explosive running team that rolls out four different quarterbacks depending on the situation. The Grizzlies ran for 238 and 320 yards the past two weeks, finally finding an offensive rhythm to back up their lights-out defense.
Rocky Mountain leads the all-time series 12-3, and the Warriors have not won at Rocky Mountain since 2008, the year the school opened. But Meridian snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Grizzlies with a 14-12 victory last year, stopping Rocky Mountain’s two-point conversion attempt with 1 second left.
Prediction: Meridian 31, Rocky Mountain 27
EAGLE AT MOUNTAIN VIEW
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
The 5A SIC River Division race is a bit more complicated. No. 1-ranked Eagle (6-0, 4-0) clinches the division title with a win Friday or a victory next week against Borah. But Mountain View (4-2, 2-2) isn’t out of the race. The Mavericks must win Friday, and then they need plenty of help next week for a tiebreaker to fall their way.
Eagle asserted itself as the state’s clear team to beat last week, triggering the running-clock mercy rule in a 40-21 win over then-No. 2 Boise. The one hole in the Mustangs’ resume was a decisive win over a top-level opponent. Consider that hole filled after Eagle forced six turnovers, Noah Burnham ran for 199 yards and four TDs, and the Mustangs imposed their will all over the field.
Mountain View lost starting quarterback Justin McGee to an injury last week. Sophomore Henry Nelson more than filled his shoes after the two spent all summer and most of the fall splitting snaps. The sophomore threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Mavericks to a vital 52-15 win over Kuna.
Prediction: Eagle 33, Mountain View 22
BOISE VS. BORAH
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Thursday at Dona Larsen Park
Boise’s fairy-tale season came crashing to Earth in the big loss at Eagle, but the Brave (5-1, 3-1) remain ranked No. 3 in the state media poll. They still control their playoff chances. And they are on the verge of securing their best season in decades.
A victory would guarantee Boise its first season above .500 since 2008. It would also give the Brave six wins — their most since 1992, when they went 7-4 and made the state semifinals.
Borah (4-2, 2-2) enters looking for a bounceback win as well. The Lions started 4-0 before losing back-to-back games to Mountain View and Owyhee. A bye week gave Borah time to install a few new wrinkles to face the school’s oldest rival.
Prediction: Boise 28, Borah 20
BISHOP KELLY AT EMMETT
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: NFHSNetwork.com
This game has decided the 4A Southern Idaho Conference champion each of the past three years. Skyview still looms for Bishop Kelly in the final week of the regular season, but a win here remains key to repeat as league champs.
No. 1 Bishop Kelly (6-0, 2-0) has yet to find a challenger this season, beating opponents by a whopping 42.4 points per game. Running back Peter Minnaert rips off yardage as he pleases, and the quarterback-wide receiver duo of Ben Avella and Cooper Cammann provides big play after big play.
But the Knights haven’t found themselves in a dogfight yet. And no one has given Bishop Kelly more trouble the past three years than Emmett.
Prediction: Bishop Kelly 42, Emmett 13
WEISER AT HOMEDALE
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Broadcast: IdahoSports.com, NFHSNetwork.com
One of the state’s most impressive streaks resides in Homedale, where the Trojans have won five straight 3A SRV league titles and 29 consecutive games against league opponents.
No. 2-ranked Homedale (6-0, 2-0) can’t clinch a sixth straight league title Friday, but the matchup against No. 3 Weiser (6-0, 2-0) sets itself up as the de facto SRV championship game.
Homedale quarterback Dillon Fine has capably stepped into the shoes of a three-year starter, completing 76% of his passes for 1,304 yards and 23 touchdowns despite taking a seat early in many of the Trojans’ blowouts.
But Homedale won’t add another year to its championship box car on his arm alone. The Trojans will have to slow Weiser’s multiheaded running game (232 yards per game, 23 TDs). History says they should. But streaks are meant to be broken.
Prediction: Homedale 35, Weiser 20
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 1:00 PM.
