With a chance to earn homefield advantage for the remainder of the postseason, Lewiston makes one last arduous road trip.
The Bengal football team will visit Rocky Mountain High of Meridian Friday at 6 p.m. PST - knowing that a win against the top seed from the Treasure Valley will essentially flip the bracket and keep the Bengals in northern Idaho for both the semifinals and title game.
But to get there, the Bengals first must conquer a quarterfinals opponent that, in Lewiston coach Shawn Nilsson's words, "just causes a lot of problems."
That description might well describe Lewiston's judicious junior quarterback, Colton Richardson, who completes 70 percent of his passes and has 30 touchdowns.
Getting healthier after sustaining a separated shoulder several weeks ago, Lewiston's Troy Ahlers nabbed an interception last week and will primarily see time on defense going forward, Nilsson said.
While Ahlers runs precise routes, Nilsson hopes to fill his role as possession receiver with Alex Light, who makes people miss in space, he explained and "is a little quicker than Troy."
"He's another scary threat for teams."
Grangeville vs. Melba - Grangeville returns to the place it finished last year: the Kibbie Dome.
The Bulldogs, who lost in the semifinals last season, will kick off this Friday's Idaho Class 2A quarterfinal at 4 p.m. hoping to continue to ride their hot hand: running back Jake Kaschmitter, who rushed for three scores last week and often does his most damage running behind offensive lineman Jakob Layman.
"He's pretty much packing us all on his back," Bulldogs wideout Austin Parks said of Layman, who he called his team's workhorse. "If it wasn't for him ... we wouldn't be where we are."
Prairie vs. Oakley - A stat worth watching: Prairie quarterback Jake Bruner will likely reach the 7,000-yard plateau for his career passing, so long as he throws for at least 167 yards during this Friday's Idaho Class 1A Division I quarterfinal at the Kibbie Dome.
The contest kicks off at 1 p.m. and pits the defending state champion Pirates against the same team they beat in last year's quarterfinals (by 30 points).
One wild card to contend with, Prairie coach Ryan Hasselstrom noted, is the early nature of the game, about six hours before most his team's games usually start.
"We're all creatures of habit," Hasselstrom said, noting that the early time might play some role, "but we're not playing at 9 a.m. in the morning so we'll adjust and be OK."
Lapwai at Glenns Ferry - The Wildcats initially thought they might play host to this Idaho Class 1A Division I quarterfinal, but no dice. They'll instead travel six hours to the Pilots' home field for this 6 p.m. PST tilt on Friday which may come down to one thing: whether the Wildcats can continue to fire on all cylinders offensively.
Lapwai quarterback Courage Lone Bear ended the regular season with 1,993 yards passing and kept up pace last week, throwing for over 300 while spreading the love between top targets Cameron Shawl, Davian Henry and Tommy Miles-Williams.
"Courage has a lot of targets," Wildcats coach William Big Man said, particularly crediting Lapwai linemen Lance Baptiste, Jamison Hopkins and Jose Ortiz with giving Lone Bear plenty of time.
Overwhelmed with pride after Big Man saw his 6-2 team double its win total from last season, he lauded his players for "being a great bunch of kids."
"Their grades are good and (while) they like to have fun, when (the time) comes, they get down to business and get it done."
Kamiah vs. Valley - Hoping to reach the semifinals for a second straight year, Kamiah must first get past Valley, the only other unbeaten club in the state besides Prairie.
"It's a tough draw," admitted Kamiah coach Ryan Ball.
The Kubs will kick off their Idaho Class 1A Division I quarterfinal at 7:15 p.m. PST Friday at Pocatello's Holt Arena, hoping to shine an optimistic light on their situation.
The Kubs last year took the southern road to the semifinals, beating Butte County, so "we know what to do," Ball said, "on a long road trip."
With Greenleaf forfeiting its opening-round game last week to the Kubs, the Whitepine squad's Bailey Christopherson got some much-needed time to heal the bruised lung he suffered in the Kubs' regular-season finale, and Ball got a chance to obsessively plan for a squad which averages 62 points per game, just a touchdown more than the Kubs put out.
"Their offense is built on getting big plays," Ball said of Valley, explaining what he thought might prove the difference, "so if we can contain that, whoever has more explosive plays will win the game."
The last time the run-first Kubs took the field, quarterback Parker Whipple threw two TD passes of over 60 yards and "I think people are surprised," Ball said of Whipple, "that he's a very accurate thrower."
So while Kubs tailback Taylor McAlister undoubtedly carries much of the load on offense, with over 1,000 yards running this season, if someone stacks the box against the Kubs, Ball warned, "we can throw the ball."
Kendrick at Salmon River - Both Kendrick and Salmon River may pave the road for a run to the state title game, if they can just survive the opening round of the Idaho Class 1A Division II playoffs.
Played at Riggins, this quarterfinal will kick off at 2 p.m. MST Saturday and "I think it's going to come down to whoever throws the ball the best," said Salmon River coach Charlie Shepherd, whose team has a knack for forcing interceptions thanks to the nose guard play of Gabe Gonzalez.
Kendrick quarterback Jerry Gorbett will make just his third start under center, after starter Hunter Jones fractured his hand, and "he's starting to blossom," Kendrick coach Zane Hobart said of Gorbett, who brings poise to the Tigers' huddle despite being just a sophomore.
Also new in the Tigers' backfield, tailback Mason Hewett complements running back Blake Marker in a ground-and-pound attack that held the ball for the first eight minutes of last week's loss to top-ranked Deary.
Both teams rely on clock-eating offenses and "I think the difference is going to be us definitely up front," Hobart said of his team, in particular linemen Peter Towne, Hayden Deeds and Kade Warner. "They've got some big boys who run the football," the Tigers' coach continued of his opponent from the Long Pin Conference, "so I think we've got to be ready for smashmouth football."
During their six-game winning streak, the Savages' one-two punch of Devin Buys and Beau'D Hopkins have rushed for a combined 200 yards in each game and Savage signal-caller Tucker Boyd continues to show an ability to avoid the turnovers that cost the team dearly last year as the Riggins squad missed the playoffs following back-to-back state titles.
Deary vs. Council - Hoping to at last escape the troublesome first-round of the Idaho playoffs, Deary will tangle with Council at 7 p.m. Friday in the Kibbie Dome hoping to avoid a fate it suffered the past three years.
The top-ranked team in Idaho's Class 1A Division II, unbeaten Deary last faced the Lumberjacks two years ago, when they knocked the Mustangs out of the opening playoffs round and ended up going on to play for the state title against Salmon River.
With more than 1,400 all-purpose yards and 25 TDs this season, Tyler Anderson powers a Mustangs offense that averages 54 points per game, despite only playing half the game most nights.
While Anderson stands out, Deary coach Doug Henderson said, "we've got seven other guys around him that are playing good football."
With 26 passing TDs, quarterback Morgan Beyer has helped three wideouts eclipse 300 yards receiving, which gives the Mustangs "something we haven't had in the past," Henderson said.
Colfax at Asotin - Asotin will join Colfax's conference next year, but for now, the Panthers tangle with the Bulldogs as a nonleague foe during this crossover game between the No. 6 team from the Northeast 2B (Colfax) and the No. 1 squad out of the Southeast 2B (Asotin).
"I've got so many great things to say about Jim Holman and their staff," Colfax coach Mike Morgan said of his upcoming opponent, paying particular regard to the Panthers' fleet-footed center, Cody Whitmore.
Transcending his position, Whitmore often pulls from his center position so well that he can lead running backs around the corner on sweeps, "something," Morgan said, "you hardly ever see."
Both teams in many ways represent mirror images of each other: both feature dual-threat quarterbacks (Colfax's Keith Gfeller and Asotin's Blake Magnuson); both feature a talented stable of running backs (Asotin's Jake Dilling, Colton Ball and Pate Earl; Colfax's Cody Fulfs, Dane Hall and Blake Bodey). Both teams used to run the 4-3 defense before the Bulldogs switched this year to a 3-4, which mirrors another Palouse program: the Washington State Cougars.
"Our defenses are going through the same type of growing pains," Morgan said of his team and the Cougars, who he believes show the 3-4's potential.
"They shut down a Heisman candidate (in Stanford's Christian McCaffrey) last week and (defensive coordinator) Alex (Grinch) was the missing ingredient Washington State needed," Morgan said, recalling his own days with the Cougars as a volunteer assistant. Back then, Morgan pointed out, former coach Mike Price featured a high-flying offense "and as soon as the Palouse Posse came around, you had something special; that's what led to two Rose Bowl appearances. Defense is getting the Cougars to a bowl game and ... we need a great night against Asotin on defense to keep their strong offense on the sidelines."
Holman said both coaching staffs hold each other in high esteem "which makes it fun," the Panthers coach said, "to compete against guys you respect."
Garfield-Palouse at Colton - It's simple: With a win, the Wildcats can punch their tickets to the playoffs after surviving a scare from three-win Pomeroy last week. The game will start at 1:30 p.m. today to avoid darkness since Colton's field lacks lighting.
Cooling their heels - Clarkston essentially got the week off to prepare for its crossover game this coming Tuesday at home against an opponent to be determined, after the Bantams won the school's first back-to-back league crowns in over a decade.
The last time the Bantams won back-to-back league crowns in football came in 1992 and 1993 when Clarkston played in the Frontier League and "we just want to keep the ball rolling," said Clarkston coach Brycen Bye, whose team guarantees itself a rematch with Prosser if it wins next week's crossover game.
The Mustangs blew out Clarkston last year in the opening round of the state playoffs, leaving a sour taste in the Bantams' mouths, Bye said, "so we feel like our guys are really pumped up to face them again."
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Edelman may be contacted at bedelman@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2277.