Potential playoff preview? Skyline holds off Hillcrest to take top spot in High Country Conference
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IDAHO FALLS – There was no Hail Mary, last-second touchdown this time around. Instead, Friday’s Hillcrest vs. Skyline game proved worthy of a potential conference championship matchup.
Skyline had the early lead. Hillcrest fought back in the second quarter. Skyline made big plays in the third. Hillcrest fought back again to pull within a score midway through the fourth. Skyline made a fourth-down defensive stop and then converted a clinching touchdown with 1:33 left to seal the 28-16 victory.
It wasn’t a last-second game-winning touchdown like Hillcrest celebrated last year, but there was plenty of drama to go around.
“Obviously, Skyline came out tough and all credit to them, but I think that was two of the top 5A teams in the state doing battle tonight,” Hillcrest coach Brennon Mossholder said. “It was a close game there to the very end.”
Skyline’s win puts the Grizzlies (2-2, 2-0) on top of the standings and means everyone will be chasing them for that coveted No. 1 playoff seed in the conference.
Bonneville picked up its first win of the year by downing Idaho Falls on Friday, so the Bees are back in the postseason picture even though its just four weeks into the season.
Mossholder noted, the Knights (2-2, 1-1) have their destiny in front of them when they take on Shelley and Blackfoot the next two weeks.
“No rest for the weary,” he said.
As for Skyline, any loss could throw a wrench into celebrating that top seed too early. The Grizzlies play Idaho Falls and Shelley in the next two weeks and the Tigers and Russets would love nothing more than to knock Skyline from the top of the standings.
“It’s early,” said Skyline quarterback CarMyne Garcia, who finished with three touchdown passes including a 69-yard scoring strike to Zyan Crockett in the second quarter to put the Grizzlies up 15-0. “It puts us in the No. 1 spot right now and I think that’s what pushed us.”
It was Garcia again with a big play in the third quarter when he found Treyden Kirkham in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard score on a fourth-and-nine play.
That gave the Grizzlies a 22-13 lead and seemingly spoiled a comeback by the Knights. The defense also did its part, coming up with a fourth-down sack and an interception on Hillcrest’s two third-quarter possessions.
A 46-yard field goal by Rylan Borgmann with 6:01 left cut the gap to one score, but the Skyline defense responded with a blocked pass attempt on fourth down with less than four minutes left.
The Grizzlies retained possession and Crockett capped the game with a 27-yard touchdown run for the final margin of victory.
“There’s always things we can improve on,” Garcia said. “But I think having a hard schedule will help us. We’re just going to learn from our mistakes we’ve made the last couple of games.”
Hillcrest quarterback Tyson Sweetwood finished 19-of-37 for 211 yards, but had three interceptions. He also ran for a 69-yard touchdown and finished with 110 yards rushing. Jace Judy had seven catches for 110 yards for the Knights.