Middleton football chose to stay in 6A. A desperate dive secured its biggest win yet
Middleton’s offseason decision to remain in Idaho’s top football classification raised more than a few eyebrows.
New state rules allowed the Vikings to drop a level and take on smaller schools. But Middleton wanted to prove it belongs among Idaho’s top football teams. And vindication came Friday night.
The Vikings (3-2, 2-0 6A SIC Foothills) knocked off Meridian 31-30 in overtime, beating the Warriors for the first time in program history and scoring their first win over a perennial 6A power.
“People doubt us a lot,” Middleton senior defensive back Weston Mills said. “We’re kind of the underdogs. But we got this in the bag. I think we’re a really good team, and we’re state contenders.”
Mills preserved the program-defining win Friday, knocking away Meridian’s two-point pass in overtime. Mills admitted he didn’t expect the Warriors (1-4, 0-2) to go for a two-point conversion and the win. Conflicting coverage calls rang out, and he found himself alone on an island with Meridian’s Daysen Boltz.
A double move left Mills trailing Boltz by two steps as Meridian quarterback Zeke Martinez escaped pressure. But Mills scrambled to eat up the lost ground and laid out as the ball reached Boltz’s hands, nicking the back of the ball while fully extended.
“I saw the receiver have it in his hands, and Weston came through and knocked it out,” Middleton junior linebacker Drew Holman said. “He just made a great play.”
The wild ending capped a game that remained within seven points all night. Meridian took its first lead of the night when Spencer Walker drained a 40-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the third quarter. But Middleton answered with Tyler Robinson’s 35-yard field goal with 4:49 left in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.
The Vikings took the first lead in extra period when Brayden Steik took a counter handoff on his only touch of the night, fooling everyone in the stadium and strolling into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown.
Martinez put Meridian on the scoreboard in overtime with a 3-yard, play-action pass to Dahani Alvarado in the flat. He left Middleton defenders grasping at air all night to finish 17-for-23 for 179 yards and three TDs, and he ran for a team-high 58 yards and another score.
But pressure from Holman, Steik and Ryan Lewis forced him into a leaping throw across his body on the decisive play, allowing Mills enough time to close the gap.
“We felt like the last couple years we were knocking on the door,” Middleton coach Bill Brock said. “And today, we were able to take a step through it.”
Middleton held its own the past two seasons in Idaho’s top division. The Vikings went a combined 14-7, made the playoffs each season and even won a road playoff game. But Middleton had yet to knock off one of the SIC’s powerhouses until Friday.
A move down would have made the Vikings instant state title contenders. But Brock said his players convinced him and the school’s administration to fight the uphill battle in 6A.
“We put in the work,” Holman said, “so we belong in 6A.”
MIDDLETON LEADERS
Junior running back Jake Perez established a physical running game, often taking direct snaps from center on his way to 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
Holman (five carries, 20 yards) and Steik also ran for touchdowns as Middleton scored all its points on the ground. But senior quarterback Brockton Smith led the Vikings up and down the field, finishing 13-for-17 for 181 yards.
He engineered a two-minute drill to end the first half, guiding the Vikings on a five-play, 71-yard drive in 40 seconds that Holman capped with a 1-yard touchdown run.
UP NEXT
Middleton: Hosts Timberline (4-1, 2-0) next week for homecoming in a surprising battle atop the 6A SIC Foothills standings.
Meridian: Hosts Rocky Mountain (5-0, 2-0) next week in a battle of the two preseason favorites in the 6A SIC Foothills Division.
This story was originally published September 28, 2024 at 12:05 AM.
