All eyes in the Great Basin Conference West will be focused on the Spartan gridiron in Rupert Friday, where three-time GBW champion Minico will host the onrushing Jerome Tigers in a classic prep football battle for league supremacy.
Last Friday Minico tuned up for its big showdown by piling up 284 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in a 55-12 league rout over Wood River in frosty Hailey. Meanwhile high-scoring Jerome (45.5 ppg) beat up on 5A Twin Falls 48-6 for its fifth consecutive triumph.
Minico (5-1, 2-0 league) has been the top GBW dog with 11 straight league wins dating back to Burley's 2004 title season. But Jerome (5-1, 1-0) under third-year coach Gary Krumm is hungry to finish its comeback from the 0-9 Tiger campaign of 2005. Jerome almost beat Minico at home last year, but eventually fell 49-42.
Friday's game is a high-stakes affair for both teams when it comes to seeding for the Oct. 31 Great Eight playoffs, a preliminary southern Idaho round for the eight-team State 4A tournament Nov. 7-8.
The GBW champion, likely the winner of Minico and Jerome, will play the Idaho Falls-area third-place team, either Bonneville (3-3, 0-1) or Rigby (0-7, 0-2). The GBW runner-up has a much harder first-round test against either reigning State 4A champion Blackfoot (6-1, 1-0) or Cinderella team Hillcrest (5-1, 2-0) on Oct. 31.
And Hillcrest is the next challenge for coach Mike Glenn's Wood River Wolverines (1-5, 0-2 GBW) Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in Idaho Falls.
The Knights snapped a 23-game losing skid with a 39-14 win over 5A Idaho Falls Sept. 5 and have won four more games including Friday's 29-20 Homecoming victory over Preston (4-2). Preston had beaten visiting Minico 35-25 Sept. 26.
Wood River (99 yards, 29 carries) continued to have difficulty rushing during Friday's Minico game, but there were bright spots in the passing of junior quarterback Juan Martinez (11-for-14, 230 yards, 2 TD) and receiving of seniors Michale Brunker (3-for-116) and Greg Wakefield (3-for-81, 1 TD).
Sophomore running back Andrew Orr (9 carries, 56 yards) also showed promise rushing the ball against Minico's second team late in the game. Led by senior Skylar Morgan (13 carries, 136 yards) Minico scored on its first four possessions Friday and put together scoring drives covering 65, 58, 56, 86 and 60 yards.
Wood River ends its season Friday, Oct. 24 at Jerome.
Check the Express Web site for game stats for WR-Minico.
