Add another chapter to the rivalry as Skyline will play Hillcrest in 5A title game after beating Minico
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POCATELLO – It will probably feel like old times when Skyline and Hillcrest meet in Friday’s 5A state championship game.
Clarification: Old times = last two years.
Top-seeded Skyline took care of business on Saturday, rolling to an early lead on the way to a 35-8 semifinal win over Minico at ICCU Arena.
Hillcrest, the No. 2 seed, rallied past Lakeland on Friday.
So now the conference foes will play for the blue trophy and add another chapter to their budding rivalry.
The championship game is Friday at 8:15 p.m. at the ICCU Dome.
The Grizzlies, who have made a home for themselves in the dome during their championship runs, jumped out to a 28-0 lead over Minico in Saturday’s semifinals and never looked back.
“We talked all week that we had to have a fast start against these guys,” Skyline coach Scott Berger said. “We knew they were a good running football team and we had to stop the run and get the ball back to our offense. We had to get some scores and get the lead so they were chasing us. That was the big key.”
It was an impressive performance from the Skyline offense, which, after a punt on its first series, scored on its next four possessions.
On the other side of the ball, the defense came up with three interceptions and turned the Minico offense one-dimensional.
The Spartans’ Preston Sonner-Cranney carried the ball 36 times for 189 yards. He scored late in the third quarter, but by then the Grizzlies had a 35-0 lead.
Minico (9-3), the Great Basin Conference champion, added a safety in the fourth quarter, but would get no closer.
Let’s talk about that emerging Skyline-Hillcrest rivalry.
Skyline has filled its trophy case over the past decade, while Hillcrest has made a resurgence after a winless season just three years ago.
Hillcrest, which won a state title in 2018, had the advantage last season, downing the Grizzlies in the regular season and then ending Skyline’s three-year championship streak with a 35-31 win in the semifinals.
Hillcrest lost to Bishop Kelly in last year’s state championship game, but has returned with a vengeance with a whole new cast of characters.
Skyline beat Hillcrest 28-16 in their regular-season matchup back in September, but the two have seemingly been on a postseason collision course since.
Hillcrest has averaged more than 43 points over the past four games, while Skyline has won nine straight heading into the championship game.