Playoff football recap: Eagle, Homedale both get revenge, advancing to the state finals
Certain sacrifices have to be made when a state championship appearance is on the line.
That would explain why Homedale football coach Matt Holtry was on the sideline wearing shorts in near-freezing temperatures.
And it worked like a charm.
The Trojans avenged a regular-season loss to conference rival Weiser with a 27-7 victory Friday night in the semifinals of the 4A state playoffs at Homedale High School.
[Related: 6A to 1A playoff scores, brackets]
“I wore pants one time this season, and it was at Weiser,” Holtry said. “That was not gonna happen again. The kids don’t say a word about it, because we don’t want to jinx it. We’re just rolling with it.”
Whether it was adhering to superstition or simply stellar play, Homedale (10-1) advanced to the state finals, where it will face two-time defending champion and top-seeded Sugar-Salem (8-2) next week. The championship game location, time and date will be determined in the coming days.
“It’s amazing what hard work can do and what discipline can do,” Homedale junior Kade Hall said. “Just seeing your goals and trying to achieve them.”
After committing six turnovers and losing to Weiser 30-6 on Oct. 4, which snapped Homedale’s 33-game conference winning streak, the Trojans were a completely different team the second time around.
Weiser entered Friday’s semifinal averaging 268 rushing yards per game, but the Trojans didn’t give up any ground, limiting the Wolverines to just 58 rushing yards and 147 total yards.
Meanwhile, the Homedale offense churned out 371 total yards, including 242 on the ground, without a turnover.
“It was that (Weiser loss) that kind of turned our identity around and refocused our kids,” Holtry said. “It humbled them a little bit, which they needed, we all needed. It kind of refocused us on what’s going to be our identity. And the kids all agreed we need to be a physical, disciplined football team.”
Homedale established that physical, disciplined identity from the start Friday night, forcing Weiser (8-3) to a three-and-out on its first possession and then driving 53 yards in nine plays, polished off by a 10-yard keeper from junior quarterback Xavier Uranga for a 6-0 lead with 6:29 on the clock in the first quarter.
The Trojans pushed their advantage to as much as 20-0 before the Wolverines got on the board in the closing seconds of the first half courtesy of a 2-yard run by senior quarterback Kolin Cook. The scoring play was set up by a 61-yard completion from Cook to senior receiver Josh Mizar.
“We had a tough time playing them the first time, but we put that in the past as soon as the game was over,” Homedale senior Luke Henry said. “Tonight we just started out strong, we trusted each other and just went from there.”
Henry had a hand in two of Homedale’s four touchdowns, throwing a 2-yard TD pass to junior tight end Lukas Hall in the second quarter and returning a punt 58 yards for a score near the end of the third quarter.
Kade Hall, who also plays defensive end, racked up 138 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, and Uranga finished 8-for-10 through the air for 127 yards.
After the win, Holtry had the Homedale crowd line the length of the field in a tunnel formation to allow the seniors to walk off their home turf in style one last time.
In the moment, Henry couldn’t help but hope the Trojans would soon be adding another state championship year to the old box car that sits adjacent to the field. Homedale has eight state titles in program history, with the last coming in 1997.
“All those state championships, everyone takes so much pride in it,” Henry said. “We just love this community and love everything they do for us.”
EAGLE 28, COEUR D’ALENE 14
The Mustangs went on the road and pulled the upset, jumping out to a 28-0 lead before the Vikings scored a pair of late touchdowns.
Eagle (9-2) advanced to its first state championship since 2011. It will face Rigby (10-1) for the 6A state title at 2 p.m. next Saturday on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium.
Noah Burnham dominated the game on the ground, running for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. He headlined an Eagle offense that ran for 277 of its 349 yards to avenge a 7-6 loss to Coeur d’Alene at home in last year’s semifinals.
Quarterback Austin Ramsey added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Mustangs’ final score. He also finished 6-for-10 for 48 yards in limited action as Eagle continued to pound the ball.
Nate Williams led the Mustangs’ defense with seven tackles, including six tackles-for-loss and three sacks. Jaxson LeBeau also had seven tackles and two tackles-for-loss.
Coeur d’Alene finished with 315 total yards. But most came with the game already decided, and the Vikings ran for negative-17 yards.
DIETRICH 71, TRI-VALLEY 40
The Titans had no answer for Dietrich quarterback Connor Perkins, who racked up 524 total yards and 10 touchdowns in the 1A state semifinals at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.
Perkins completed 11-of-14 passes for 302 yards and six touchdowns, and he only needed 14 carries to run for 222 yards and four touchdowns.
He led Dietrich to an 18-0 lead in the first quarter, and Tri-Valley could never get any closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Dietrich (10-1) advances to face conference rival Carey for the state title at 7 p.m. Thursday at the ICCU Dome.
Tri-Valley (7-2) quarterback Jace Waggoner finished with an impressive night of his own. He ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and he threw for 48 yards and two more scores.
CAREY 70, GARDEN VALLEY 0
The top-seeded Panthers held Garden Valley to 155 yards, returned a fumble for a score and blocked a punt for a safety to post a shutout in the 1A semifinals at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.
Carey (10-1) quarterback Preston Wood threw for 173 yards and six touchdowns, and he ran for 110 yards and another score. Gabe Saili stood as his top target, turning five catches into 76 yards and three TDs. Saili also scored the defensive touchdown, returning a fumble 10 yards.
Trevor Corn led Garden Valley (7-3) in the loss, running for 82 yards on 18 carries.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 6:45 PM.
