Fearless predictions for week one football playoffs!

BLACKFOOT — Four Bingham County teams will enter the comfy confines of Idaho State Universities Holt Arena this week, as the 2009 prep football playoffs kick off on Thursday.

Here is a game-by-game breakdown of the area schools and their opponents with a bold prediction from yours truly about the outcome of each game.

READER OPINION:  I’ve made my predictions.  How about yours?  How do you see this weeks Bingham County teams doing?

 

Aberdeen (4-4) vs North Fremont (6-1) Saturday, noon

 

At first glance this game could easily be seen as a mismatch with North Fremont sporting an impressive 6-1 record and a regular season conference title.

Looks can be deceiving, however as the Huskies feasted on a conference that is in a down year on the grid iron, with traditional powerhouses Firth and West Jefferson sporting a combined 1-13 record while no other team in the conference finished above the mendoza line.

North Fremont does boast a stout defensive unit, allowing just eleven points per game during the season in support of an offense that averaged twenty-one points per outing.

Conversely, Aberdeen hails from arguably one of the toughest 2A conferences this season with four of the five teams sporting above five hundred records.

Aberdeen enters Saturday’s showdown having won three of their last four ball games including a sixty-point explosion at Grace and a most impressive 24-14 win over a Kamiah team that has been ranked in the top five in the state all season.

Entering the season with every position being filled by a new starter, the Tigers have steadily improved all year, with the defense seemingly coming together at just the right time as they have allowed just fourteen-points per ball game in the last two outings.

Offensively, the Tigers continue to rack up the ground yardage and the points, averaging twenty-four points per contest, despite opponents knowing that the Greg Bartholoma led offense is coming right at them.

In the end, the smart money is on Coach Hollingsworth and the Tigers.

Prediction – Tigers 31 Huskies 13

 

Snake River (5-3) vs South Fremont (6-2) Thursday, 6:30 P.M.

 

This game will be a rematch of a week one match up at Snake River High School.  On that warm August night, the Panthers downed South Fremont 38-14, setting a tone for the rest of the season as the offense averaged thirty-two points per contest while the defense was solid allowing just sixteen.

Finishing second in a conference that featured an undefeated regular season champion, the Panthers showcased a very athletic team that has come to grasp second year head coach, Jeff Dalley’s offensive strategies to perfection.

The Panthers losses this season came to undefeated Shelley, Marsh Valley and a 5A school out of Granger, Utah.

Eerily similar is the Cougars, who lost twice this year, both to Bingham County teams, the Panthers and to conference champion Shelley.

The Cougars have steadily improved throughout the season, averaging thirty-seven points per ball game while the defense stingily allowed just fifteen.

It is always hard to beat a team twice in a season and it will be interesting to see how the Panthers rebound from a tough loss last week at Marsh Valley.

In perhaps the closest contest of week one of the playoffs the Panthers will find a way to get it done.

Prediction – Panthers 20 Cougars 18

 

Shelley (8-0) vs American Falls (2-6) Thursday, 8:45 P.M.

 

No matter how you look at this match up there is really only one obvious conclusion to this David vs Goliath.

The top ranked Shelley Russets are in no threat of a loss to the Beavers of American Falls.

Playing their last season in the 3A Mountain Rivers Conference, the Russets showed area teams why they are the cream of the crop, rolling up thirty-nine points per game, including a pair of wins over 4A Rigby and Preston.

The greatest strength of the team is their sheer numbers.  The Russets play thirty plus, kids per night.  Aaron Adams and Gabe Nii have cracked the 100-yard rushing mark nearly every ballgame, including several nights when they both went over the century mark.

Facing an American Falls team that has given up an average of thirty-three points per outing must have the Shelley offensive players licking their chops.

On the defensive side of the ball, a Cody Anderson led bunch will look to use their superior size and speed on the Holt Arena turf against an American Falls squad that has averaged just eight-points per contest.

Of course upsets do happen, especially if a team is looking past an opponent.  Not on this night, however as the Russets could send out their junior varsity and get this win.  The only concern will be keeping the starters healthy in a big blow out win.

Prediction – Russets 60 Beavers 0

 

Blackfoot (7-1) vs Century (5-3) Friday, 8:45 P.M.

 

This one may be the game of the week.  Blackfoot enters the game as the second seed out of the High Country Conference while Century comes in as the Great Basin (East) conference champs.

These two teams met at the beginning of October in Blackfoot, with the Bronco’s prevailing 20-15 in a game that was close all the way down to the final possession.

Since then, both teams lost to Hillcrest at Thunder Stadium with Blackfoot dropping a heartbreaker last Friday night.

Century, conversely was able to get a huge emotional win over heated cross-town rival Pocatello last Friday and with that, each team is heading into Friday nights contest with starkly different mind sets.

The biggest question mark to be answered will be if Blackfoot can get themselves back up emotionally following the tough loss and not overlook the Diamondbacks.

Blackfoot has got to be considered the favorite, with an explosive offense that has racked up 258-points on the season for a thirty-two point average.

That said, the normally stout defense has struggled the past three weeks, allowing ninety-six points over that period and a Diamondback offense that averages twenty-six points per night, should make the Garrett Buck led defense sit up and take notice.

This will be the first time on the artificial turf since the Broncos play off exit last year to Jerome so the home field advantage will definitely be in play for the night cap on Friday night.

This game will have the Bronco fans as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs but in the end, an Anthony Clarke touchdown pass to Julio Flores will be the difference as Blackfoot advances to round two of the play offs.

Prediction Broncos 38 Diamondbacks 34

 

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