Prep football recap: Top-ranked Eagle upset in semis. Meridian, Weiser fall in Pocatello
Eagle’s dream season came to an end Friday.
The previously undefeated Mustangs fell 7-6 to Coeur d’Alene in the 5A state semifinals, finally running out of last-minute magic against the state’s top defense.
Coeur d’Alene forced a pair of turnovers, made a goal-line stop and created the absolute bare minimum of offensive plays needed to pull off the upset. The Vikings (9-2) advance to the 5A state championship next week, where they will face Highland (10-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Idaho State’s Holt Arena.
“If you look at the yardage, I guarantee they had a lot more yards than we did,” Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “But sometimes it’s a game of momentum. We got a couple of turnovers when we needed them. It was honestly just a survive and advance game.”
[Related: Idaho state football playoff scores, brackets]
Eagle (10-1) dominated the stat sheet no matter how you slice it. The Mustangs out-gained Coeur d’Alene 326-148. They limited the Vikings to six first downs. And they held the ball for 30 minutes and 47 seconds of a 48-minute game clock.
But the state’s unanimous No. 1-ranked team left its home field Friday with little to show for it.
Quarterback Davis Harsin scored the Mustangs’ only touchdown when he broke free for an 18-yard run around the left corner with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Third-string kicker Lucas Bookholdt couldn’t convert the tying extra point though. And the converted soccer player, who joined the team two weeks ago, missed a 35-yard, game-winning field goal with 26 seconds to go wide left.
“We really believed in him, and we came up short,” Eagle coach James Cluphf said. “We love the kid. It’s how it rolls.”
Eagle had several other chances to take control of the defensive battle but couldn’t make the one play it needed. The Mustangs cruised down the field on the game’s opening possession until Harsin failed to see Coeur d’Alene linebacker Alex Brown sitting in a zone. Brown made him pay, picking off the pass at his own 15-yard line.
The Mustangs also decided to skip the field goal and go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Eastern Washington commit Shea Robertson proved that was a mistake when he sliced through the line and dropped running back Noah Burnham at the 1.
“We just had momentum going,” Cluphf said of the fourth-down decision. “We had them on their heels. We felt the offensive line was really getting a lot of push, and we felt that was the time to capitalize and punch one in.”
Eagle’s defense forced Coeur d’Alene into a three-and-out on eight of its 11 possessions, excluding a kneel down to end the game. But the Vikings pounced for their only score after Harsin fumbled a shotgun snap in the second quarter.
Jayson Cady jumped on the loose ball. And on the next play, sophomore quarterback Caden Symons hit Jamison Kizziar for a 37-yard strike to the Eagle 6-yard line, setting up Symons’ 1-yard sneak.
That was all the Vikings needed as their state-leading defense forced their 40th and 41st turnovers of the season and kept Burnham (34 carries, 158 yards) out of the end zone.
“That running back is a dude, and they’re great up front,” Amos said. “I don’t know if we can say we stopped the run. They ran and got a lot of yards (172). We made just enough stops at the right times.”
HIGHLAND 20, MERIDIAN 14
Rhidge Barela caught a pair of touchdown passes from Drew Hymas, and the Rams made a late defensive stand to avenge a September loss to Meridian with a 5A state semifinal win.
Meridian (7-4) got the ball back at its own 16-yard line with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter. But Highland (10-1) refused to let the Warriors even start a comeback, forcing a quick turnover on downs to ice the victory at Holt Arena.
Stats were not available at press time.
SUGAR-SALEM 25, WEISER 7
The Diggers’ defense shut down Weiser’s potent running game, holding the Wolverines to seven first downs, 32 yards on the ground and 98 yards overall in a 3A state semifinal at Holt Arena.
Tate Cutler had 101 total yards and two touchdowns on eight offensive touches, and Carson Harris ran for 85 yards as Sugar-Salem (10-0) racked up 232 yards on the ground. Quarterback James Chase also finished 12-of-18 for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Brock Spencer scored Weiser’s only touchdown on a 28-yard pass from Kolin Cook in the third quarter. Spencer finished with five catches for 60 yards, and Cook went 7-for-15 for 77 yards for Weiser (10-2).
Sugar-Salem will face the winner of Saturday’s Homedale vs. Teton matchup for a shot at its fifth title in six years.
DECLO 38, MELBA 16
The Hornets forced five turnovers and out scored Melba 24-9 in the second half to roll to a victory in the 2A state semifinals on their home field.
Stats were not available at press time.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 12:03 AM.
