Diehard Jock: Snake River Valley teams step up in playoffs
By Scott Ford
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:49 AM PST
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| Argus Observer file photo
In week seven, Fruitland and Payette hit the gridiron in a classic Snake River Valley Conference showdown. Payette won that meeting 26-21. These two teams will square off again at 7 p.m. Friday, but this time a state title berth is on the line. |
Things are getting interesting in the 3A state playoffs with Fruitland, Weiser and Payette all still alive.
There is a buzz going around in the Treasure Valley as these three teams seek gridiron domination.
Speaking of domination, the Pirates, Wolverines and Grizzlies have been doing just that. Dominating their opponents.
In the first round of the playoffs, Fruitland made short work of the Wendell Trojans with a 54-6 win. Weiser shocked the top-ranked Buhl Indians in a 28-7 victory, and Payette showed Kimberly no mercy with a 36-3 win. Both Payette and Weiser, however, did it on the road, which made the victories even more impressive.
In the second round of the playoffs, all three teams did it again.
Weiser upended South Fremont in a come-from-behind 21-12 thriller.
Payette went up north to Spirit Lake and broke the spirits of the White Tigers with a 28-13 win, and Fruitland defended its home turf with another blowout. This time Orofino was the victim, losing 67-6 to the mighty Griz.
Four teams remain in the playoffs in the 3A class. Three belong to the Snake River Valley Conference. The other is that team from the east, the Shelley Russets, who by the way, have yet to lose a game at 10-0.
Shelley has moved in to the postseason with a win over American Falls, 52-6, and followed that with a nail-bitter over defending state champions, Salmon, 28-27.
What is it that has made the SRV teams this season?
For the Pirates, one could argue it is the heavy senior class with a ton of returning talent, and that would be a great argument, but I think it comes down to the defense the Pirates are playing and have been playing all season — namely its front four.
Tyler Kuder, Chris Avila, Travis Blackwell and Joey Barbion have been outstanding this season.
These four athletes are the heart and soul of the now-famed Black Thunder defense.
With these four Pirates applying pressure to countless quarterbacks and smashing the hopes of many running backs, they have made the entire Payette defense better.
The defense has benefited from the play of the front four, which has resulted in 33 turnovers in 2009 — 18 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries.
Leading the team in interceptions is Tobby White and Damian Reynolds, each with four and Woody Thomas has logged three, while Blackwell has covered up three loose balls for Payette.
With defense like this, it is going to tough for any team to knock off the Pirates in 2009.
The Grizzlies can also boast about their defense as they have logged five blowout wins this season.
However, it is the potent Fruitland offense that teams need to pay attention to.
Fruitland has two running backs with more than 1,000 yards rushing this season, Kyle Blackwell and Jordan Martin.
This pair is a tough matchup against any defense.
But the key to these two ground gainers has been the play of the Grizzlies offensive line, which returned only one starter from 2008, Justin Wallace.
So to give credit where credit is due, it’s been the play of a young and inexperienced line that has the Fruitland offensive motor running at peak performance.
Friday, Payette will visit Fruitland for the second time in 2009, and the anticipation is high for the schools, communities and teams.
Can Payette pull off the sweep and make it to the school’s first-ever state title game?
Or will Fruitland get revenge for the 26-21 loss in week seven and return to its fourth straight title game?
All I know is I missed the first game, but I will not miss this one.
This will be a classic gridiron battle, one for the books.
I’ll have to think long and hard about this game before I give my predictions.
Finally, there is this Wolverine team that just continues to impress week-after-week.
Weiser began the season a bit rocky, going 1-2, but then reeled off four straight wins before losing to Fruitland in the regular season finale 28-7.
However, since that loss, the Wolverines have been impressive.
Athletes like Spencer Chandler, Alton Funk and Austin Winegar have been solid all season. Also Darin Thomas has stepped up his game with solid kick returns and excellent rushes just when the Wolverines needed another threat.
Weiser has no easy task this week as it travels to Pocatello to take on Shelley, on its home turf.
A win here, and that will guarantee an all-SRV championship.
What a story that will make.
In all, you have to like the chances of that happening, and if it does, I wonder if there will be any lobbying for a venue change for the title game.
crazyhorse wrote on Nov 13, 2009 8:14 AM: