Prep football: Ridgevue keeps rolling. Middleton scores upset. Rocky posts shutout
In nine previous seasons, the Ridgevue football team has not had a winning record.
The 2025 Warhawks are happy to be in uncharted territory.
Ridgevue took down Vallivue 13-7 in a 5A Southern Idaho Conference matchup Friday in Caldwell, earning just its second win over the Falcons in program history.
“I’m speechless. I really am,” Ridgevue coach Gary Thorson said. “But they’ve gotten better every week. We learned a lot from that first loss (to Emmett). We made a lot of mistakes that game, and they’ve taken it upon themselves to start correcting things.
“And we’ve just been saying, we have the dudes. We’ve just got to make sure we’re all in the right spot, and we could be a pretty good defense. They did it tonight. I’m very proud of them.”
Ridgevue held Vallivue to just 115 total yards to improve to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. The Warhawks have already surpassed their previous program record for wins in a season — a 3-6 mark from 2017.
Until Vallivue’s final drive late in the fourth quarter, the Ridgevue defense forced eight punts and secured a fourth-down stop on another drive, never allowing the Falcons past Ridgevue’s 38-yard line.
“This year, we got a coach that believed in us, and we all bought in,” Ridgevue senior linebacker Boston Tuft said. “We all stood by his side, and we’re all working, fighting for him, fighting for the player next to us. That’s what he tells us is to play unselfish football and to fight for the guy next to you. So that’s what we tried to do tonight.”
Ridgevue scored its only touchdown of the game in dramatic fashion, getting the ball back with just 52 seconds left in the first half.
Junior quarterback Hunter Schmittel broke off a 20-yard run on the first play of the drive, then completed a 26-yard pass to junior Braden Wagoner to reach the Vallivue 35-yard line.
After a timeout with 31 seconds to go until the break, Schmittel completed a 19-yard pass to Cameron Johnson and then a 10-yarder to Dominic Zora to place the Warhawks on the Vallivue 6.
Schmittel tossed an incompletion on his first attempt from the 6 with 7 seconds to go, but found senior receiver Isaac Jones in the back right corner of the end zone with 2 seconds remaining to enter the half with a 7-0 advantage.
“I saw my guy was one-on-one with their guy, and I just knew my guy was better than his guy,” Schmittel said. “He’s been putting in the work all season, and I’ve built a lot of trust with him. I know he’s my go-to guy when I’m out there.”
Junior kicker Benson Morris tacked on field goals of 38 and 30 yards in the second half, extending Ridgevue’s lead to 13-0 with 2:54 to go.
Schmittel finished 16-for-31 through the air for 184 yards, senior receiver Cameron Johnson caught four passes for a team-best 76 yards, and junior Jarom Walker led the ground game with 72 yards on 17 carries.
The Vallivue offense came to life on its final drive of the night, scoring on senior quarterback Shane Osuna’s 1-yard keeper with 1:19 left in the game.
The Falcons attempted an onside kick, which Ridgevue recovered to end their comeback bid.
Osuna paced Vallivue (3-3, 2-1), going 6-for-12 passing for 62 yards. But star running back Onix Carson, playing with a cast on his hand, was limited to 41 yards on 20 carries as the Falcons mustered just 54 yards on the ground.
“We’re doing everything as a team,” Jones said. “We’ve just got a bunch of guys who like each other. It’s fun.”
MIDDLETON 26, TIMBERLINE 12
The Vikings upset No. 4-ranked Timberline at Dona Larsen Park on Thursday, holding the Wolves’ high-flying offense to 188 total yards and throwing a wrench into the 6A SIC Foothills Division race.
Middleton (4-2, 2-1) running back Jake Perez torched the Wolves’ defense for a second straight year, running for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. He put the Vikings on the scoreboard with a 40-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then added scoring runs of 5 and 36 yards in the fourth quarter to stave off any comeback.
Timberline (5-1, 2-1) quarterback Jack Brant went 18-for-25 for 142 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for another score. Hudson Lewis finished with seven catches for 62 yards.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN 69, MERIDIAN 0
The top-ranked Grizzlies earned their first shutout of the season, rolling past the Warriors in a 6A SIC Foothills Division matchup.
Tyke Harper was one of two Rocky players to surpass 100 yards rushing, collecting 107 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. Quarterback Kaelan Custer was 6-for-8 passing for 91 yards and a TD while also rushing for 116 yards and two more scores on the ground.
The Grizzlies (6-0, 3-0) totaled 479 yards — including 380 on the ground — while limiting Meridian to just 48 yards.
Easton Nungary finished with 48 passing yards to lead Meridian (1-5, 1-2) but also threw a pair of interceptions.
CAPITAL 44, CENTENNIAL 3
Brayden Dudley completed 12-of-21 passes for 363 yards and four TDs, leading an onslaught that saw Capital (3-3, 1-2 6A SIC Foothills) rack up 527 yards of offense.
Quincey Clay made five catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns, and Elliot Schrack hauled in five passes for 179 yards and a score as Dudley’s top two targets.
Silas Crane also ran for 42 yards and two TDs for the Eagles.
Stats were not reported for Centennial (0-6, 0-3).
BISHOP KELLY 64, SKYVIEW 0
The top-ranked Knights (6-0, 3-0 5A SIC) held the Hawks to 165 total yards and forced three turnovers to post the shutout Thursday after jumping out to a 50-0 lead at halftime.
Quarterback Ben Avella went 5-for-5 for 129 yards and three touchdowns in limited duty. Boston Huskey stood as his top target, hauling in three passes for 82 yards and two TDs. And Eli Lynes added 80 yards and two scores on just four carries.
Trevan Plew accounted for most of the production for Skyview (2-4, 1-3), completing 15-of-30 passes for 84 yards and running for a team-high 28 yards. But the Knights also intercepted him three times.
COLUMBIA 34, EMMETT 14
The Wildcats racked up for 334 rushing yards and four touchdowns Thursday to secure a key victory for their playoff chances.
Jackson Cheslak led the Columbia (4-2, 2-2 5A SIC) ground assault with 170 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Santi Carbajal added 110 yards and another score on eight carries, while quarterback Gavin Healy finished 4-for-9 for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Stats for Emmett (3-4, 1-3) were not reported.
FRUITLAND 47, PAYETTE 6
The second-ranked and unbeaten Grizzlies kept their foot on the gas with an easy win over the Pirates in 4A Snake River Valley action.
Quarterback Titus Vidlak needed just eight completions for 166 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 28 yards and another TD on five carries.
Joel Philpot, Killian Wilson, Spencer Tracy and Brandt Fisher each caught a receiving TD for Fruitland. Wilson also rushed for 105 yards as the Grizzlies (6-0, 2-0) racked up 340 total yards.
Stats were not reported for Payette (3-3, 0-2).
HOMEDALE 24, WEISER 14
The No. 3 Trojans set up a showdown of unbeatens next week with a victory over the Wolverines.
Homedale (6-0, 2-0 4A SRV) travels to Fruitland next Friday.
Against Weiser, quarterback Xavier Uranga finished 9-for-14 passing for 182 yards with three touchdowns for Homedale. Lukas Hall caught two of those touchdown passes and made a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Cole Ingle scored both TDs for Weiser (3-3, 1-1), amassing 107 rushing yards on 17 carries.
NAMPA CHRISTIAN 24, MELBA 13
The Trojans opened their 3A Western Idaho Conference slate with a victory over the Mustangs.
Quarterback Pete Dice went 16-for-27 through the air for 206 yards with touchdown passes to Ben Knudson and CJ Pond. Knudson led all receivers with five grabs for 82 yards.
Ian Johnson rushed for 65 yards and a score, and Dylan O’Brian connected on a 25-yard field goal to round out the scoring for Nampa Christian (3-2, 1-0).
The Trojans limited Melba to 165 total yards while amassing 337 of their own.
Stats were not reported for Melba (0-6, 0-2).
TRI-VALLEY 70, SALMON RIVER 46
Quarterback Jace Waggoner accounted for 452 total yards and eight touchdowns to spearhead the third-ranked Titans’ victory.
Waggoner rushed for 358 yards and six TDs, completed 5-of-10 passes for 94 yards and two more scores, and made six tackles on defense for Tri-Valley (5-1, 2-0 1A Long Pin).
Eli Noah added 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Quarterback Blake Shepherd led Salmon River (4-2, 0-1), completing 22-of-40 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 6:45 PM.
