Semifinal weekend boasts 12 great high school games — including 9 teams from eastern Idaho
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POCATELLO — Nine District 5-6 teams have survived into this weekend’s semifinal round — including all four remaining teams in the 3A bracket.
Idaho State University’s ICCU Dome will host seven playoff games this weekend with snow expected to arrive across the state. The only local school hosting a game will be Hillcrest, at its brand new Westmark Stadium.
THURSDAY
Hagerman at Butte County, 5:30 p.m. at the ICCU Dome
No. 4 Hagerman (10-1) beat Raft River, 50-26, in the play-in round of the 2A tournament before besting No. 5 Valley, 56-52, last week to earn this matchup with No. 1 Butte County.
Butte County (8-1) crushed No. 8 Rimrock, 72-21, in one of the more lopsided quarterfinals games last week.
Hagerman is responsible for Butte County’s lone loss this season. The two teams met at Hagerman on Oct. 18, and the home squad came away with a 30-14 victory.
Kimberly at Sugar-Salem, 8:15 p.m. at the ICCU Dome
The No. 1 Diggers (7-2) crushed Snake River, 49-7, following a first-round bye in the 4A tournament to earn the semifinal berth.
No. 4 Kimberly (7-3) also earned a round-one bye, before squeezing out a 27-26 overtime victory over Fruitland.
Similar to game one of the ISU doubleheader, the lower seed already boasts a victory over the “home team.”
When the two met in Sugar City on Sept. 20, it was the Bulldogs who were victorious, claiming a 17-14 win. That was a season-low point output for Sugar-Salem, who has scored 40-plus six times this season, and are 0-2 when scoring fewer than 34.
FRIDAY
Lakeland at Hillcrest , 7 p.m. at Hillcrest High School
No. 2 Hillcrest (8-3) rolled through the first two rounds of the 5A tournament, beating Sandpoint, 35-0, then Blackfoot, 35-7.
No. 3 Lakeland (9-2) stomped Shelley, 42-14, in the first round but played Vallivue to a much tighter 28-21 outcome last week.
The Knights suffered just one in-division loss — to Skyline — to go with losses to 6A powers Madison and Rigby. They have been on a tear over the past month, outscoring opponents 131-21 in winning three straight.
Rigby at Rocky Mountain, 7 p.m. at Rocky Mountain High School
West No. 1 Rocky Mountain (10-0) is the top-ranked 6A team in the state. They claimed their conference championship with a 38-0 victory over Eagle, then blowing through Kuna, 35-7, last week.
East No. 1 Rigby (9-1) lost to Coeur d’Alene (who will play Eagle in the other 6A semi) to open the season. Since, the Trojans have been dominant in cruising to nine straight wins.
Like the Grizzlies, Rigby enjoyed a hard-earned bye in round one, then they walloped Post Falls, 52-21, last week.
SATURDAY
Minico at Skyline, 1 p.m. at the ICCU Dome
Since losing at the Rocky Mountain Rumble — to out-of-state Morgan (UT) — and 6A Madison and staring the season 1-2, No. 1 Skyline (9-2) has been on a warpath. Not only have they won eight straight, they’ve done so claiming all eight by double-digits.
No. 5 Minico (9-2) was involved in what may have been the game of the year last week, topping reigning champ Bishop Kelly, 41-35, in triple-overtime.
The victory avenged one of the Spartans’ two losses on the season. The other was to Madison, who beat Minico, 21-0. The Diggers played the same Madison team to a much tighter 28-27 final.
Firth at Declo, 4 p.m. at the ICCU Dome
The first of a 3A eastern Idaho back-to-back will pit No. 5 Firth (7-2) against No. 1 Declo (9-1).
The Hornets and Cougars faced once already this season, resulting in a 22-7 Declo victory on September 20.
Firth has been hot, winning five straight since their loss at Declo.
Declo has been even hotter, claiming eight straight victories since falling 8-0 at Aberdeen on Sept. 6. During that streak, the Hornets allowed more than seven points just once — to Nampa in a 19-14 win last week.
West Side at Aberdeen, 7 p.m. at the ICCU Dome
Semifinal weekend will finish with No. 2 Aberdeen (9-1) hosting No. 3 West Side (9-1).
The Pirates beat Aberdeen when the two faced off during the regular season at West Side — 14-12 on Oct. 18 — and have not lost since falling to Declo, 6-0, on Sept. 27.
The Tigers posted the most dominant showing of all eight teams in the quarterfinal round last week, crushing No. 7 North Fremont, 35-8, to earn the semifinal berth.