A complete rundown of D5-6 playoff football; who plays whom and where
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EASTERN IDAHO — Seven District 5-6 schools will host playoff games this weekend, three of which will welcome local schools.
Another 10 teams will travel to open their tournament run.
Add in Sugar-Salem and Rigby, each of whom earned first-round byes, and eastern Idaho is well represented in this year’s state tourney.
6A
No. 11 Highland (6-3) at West No. 3 Middleton (5-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
The waiting paid off for Highland, which needed an at-large berth to earn its spot in the postseason after losing its last three games of the regular season. QB Keaton Belnap has passed for nine touchdowns and run for another six.
Middleton had lost two straight before beating Mountain View 17-14 to end the regular season
West No. 6 Capital (3-6) at East No. 2 Madison (8-1), Friday 7 p.m.
Madison finished strong with impressive wins over (5A) Minico and state and conference power Highland. The final two games showcased the Bobcats’ defense, which shutout Minico and beat the Rams 42-7. The defense, at 14.67 points per game, led the conference.
Capital lost its first six games of the season, but held off Middleton and Borah to close the regular season. Four different receivers have at least two TD catches and senior Marcellus Clay has run for eight scores.
5A
No. 16 Nampa (4-5) vs. No. 1 Skyline (7-2), Friday 7 p.m., ICCU Dome
The Grizzlies had a rough start to their season, losing two of their first three games. Since, though, QB CarMyne Garcia and the Skyline offense has averaged 35.5 points per game in winning six straight.
The Bulldogs have lost back-to-back, allowing 78 points in those two losses.
No. 13 Pocatello (5-3) at No. 4 Bishop Kelly (8-1), Friday 7 p.m.
The Thunder suffered a somewhat surprising 48-28 loss at Preston two weeks ago, but bounced back with a 27-3 home victory over Century last week.
Pocatello is shorthanded on the offensive side of the ball, dealing with several injuries, and have not won a true road game wince they beat Idaho Falls on Sept. 6.
The Knights have won six straight after suffering their lone loss at Rigby.
No. 15 Sandpoint (3-6) at No. 2 Hillcrest (6-3), Friday 7 p.m.
The Knights suffered only one loss to a 5A opponent, falling to Skyline on Sept. 20. Their other two losses came at hands of 6A powers Madison and Rigby.
QB Tyson Sweetwood has the offense clicking, scoring 100 points between their last two games.
The Bulldogs finished dead-last in the sixt-team 5A/6A Inland Empire League Conference, and have lost five straight — earning their last win on Sept. 13.
No. 10 Blackfoot (5-4) at No. 7 Preston (4-5), Friday 7 p.m.
The Blackfoot Broncos have not won or lost back-to-back games this season and are coming off a 20-14 win over Shelley last week. They are 3-2 on the road on the campaign, and will be on the road Friday.
Preston, on the other hand, has won three straight, including a conference clincher over Pocatello two weeks ago.
The two teams met in Blackfoot on Aug. 30. The Broncos won that meeting, 34-28.
No. 14 Shelley (3-6) at No. 3 Lakeland (7-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Russets finished their season with just one win in their last five games, while the Hawks are currently on a four-game winning streak.
Shelley is 3-0 when scoring 30 ore more points, so they will need an offensive outburst for any hope of an upset victory.
No. 11 Bonneville (4-5) at No. 6 Vallivue (6-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Bees find themselves in a difficult matchup as well. For Bonneville, though, it has been the defense that has decided the game for them.
They are 4-1 when allowing fewer than 28 points.
The Bonneville defense has its work cut out for it against a Vallivue offense that has scored 40-plus three times this year.
4A
No. 9 McCall-Donnelly (6-3) No. 8 Snake River (5-4), Saturday, noon
The Vandals come to Blackfoot having lost back-to-back games on the heels of back-to-back 40-point victories.
The Panthers have been consistently streaky. They began their season with three straight losses, but followed with a five-game winning streak, including back-to-back massive conference wins over Marsh Valley and American Falls. They lost to Preston, 30-14, last week,
No. 12 Teton (2-6) at No. 5 Fruitland (7-2), Friday 6 p.m.
Teton looks to be fighting an uphill battle with the Grizzlies. Fruitland’s two losses came at the hands of Homesdale and Weiser, the No.s 2 and 3 teams in the state, respectively.
The Timberwolves will look to repeat their wins over Century and South Fremont, when they scored a combined 75 points.
No. 10 Marsh Valley (5-3) at No. 7 Buhl (6-2), Friday 7 p.m.
The Eagles got off to a promising 4-1 start but stumbled down the stretch, dropping two their last three.
Buhl is heading in the opposite direction, having won four of their last five.
No. 11 American Falls (5-4) at No. 6 Moscow (7-2), Friday 7 p.m.
The Beavers were another of the 4A South East Idaho Conference teams that struggled to find consistency. None of the four teams in the conference recorded more than four wins.
American Falls scored more than 27 points just once this season, and will likely need those points against a Moscow team that averaged 31.8 points per game.
3A
The 3A seeding will be determined via play-in. The eight teams who received at-large berths berths will play this weekend, Friday and Saturday, with winners moving on to face district champions.
Priest River (6-2) at Aberdeen (7-1), Saturday 3 p.m.
Priest River opened its season with back-to-back losses, but have been unbeatable since. The Spartans have put up more than 40 points four times en route to a six-game winning streak.
The Tigers suffered their first and only loss of the season two weeks ago at West Side. Behind a dynamic read option running attack, Aberdeen earned a second-place finish in the South East Idaho Conference — which saw Aberdeen, West Side and Declo finish with an identical 4-1 conference record.
Malad (3-5) at West Side (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Speaking of West Side, they are one of only a few schools who will host a conference matchup this weekend.
In a rare instance for high school playoff football, the Dragons and Pirates are coming off a showdown last week — which was also played at West Side.
The Pirates won a tight battle, 29-20.
Marsing (6-2) at Ririe (6-2), Friday, 6 p.m.
In what will likely be a highly entertaining and competitive matchup, the Huskies will go to Ririe coming off of back-to-back wins.
The Bulldogs, who themselves have won three straight, are responsible for one of Marsing’s two losses, trouncing the Huskies, 49-18, on the road in September.
West Jefferson (4-4) at North Fremont (5-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Another of those intraconference matchups, the Huskies and Panthers also met a week ago — again, at the same place: North Fremont.
West Jefferson won that game, 20-7.
2A
Like 3A, 2A will have a play-in round to determine seeding for the tournament.
Grace (5-4) at Prairie (6-3), Friday, 6 p.m.
The Grizzlies never built any kind of momentum this season, scoring back-to-back wins just once all year. But, they never suffered any negative momentum either, avoiding back-to-back losses altogether.
They are coming off a conference-deciding loss at Butte County and will travel to Cottonwood, where the Pirates await.
Prairie is also coming off a conference loss, to Kendrick.
1A
The 1A seeding will also be determined by a play-in round taking place Friday and Saturday.
Challis (5-3) at Dietrich (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Vikings’ success has been dependent upon the offense. Challis has a combined six points in its three losses this season. They average 48 points per game in five wins.
Similarly, the explosive Blue Devils, No. 2 in MaxPreps final 1A power rankings, were held to just six points in their lone loss.
Expect a lot of points in this one — or none.
North Gem (4-5) at Tri-Valley (8-1), Friday, 4 p.m.
The Cowboys appear to be facing a difficult task, facing a Tri-Valley Titan team whose only loss this season came at the hands of top-seeded Council.
Like Dietrich, Tri-Valley is high on the MaxPreps 1A power rankings — finishing third — and are coming off a 70-0 stomping of Horseshoe Bend.