ORDER GAME PHOTOS

What a difference a year can make. 

West Side closed out the 2019 state championship game in thrilling fashion, stepping up on the goal line to prevent a potential game-winning two-point conversion by McCall-Donnelly. 

In 2020, no such drama ensued, as the Pirates blanked the Firth Cougars 39-0 to win their second-straight state title in a game defined by the West Side way of life. 

West Side entered Saturday’s contest at Twin Falls High School with not only the best defense at the 2A level, but the entire state, holding defenses to an average of five points per contest. Firth, which fell to West Side 33-6 to start its 2020 campaign, faced an uphill battle from the outset. Pirate Cage Brokens accounted for the only touchdowns of the first quarter, scoring first on a four-yard run and then again on a 52-yard reception from quarterback Blaize Brown. 

Brown was far from finished, capping off a conservative season with some electric plays downfield. The West Side QB hit Bryler Shurtliff for 43 yards downfield, putting the Pirates up 19-0. West Side, behind the legs of Brokens and the arm of Brown, posted 376 yards of total offense. 

Brokens and Brown would again score once apiece, both on a pair of runs in the red zone. 

While the offense caught fire, West Side’s defense did what it does best — create turnovers, setting up the offense with excellent field position. 

Firth coughed up the football five times, with Shurtliff taking an errant pass by Gage Vasquez 60 yards to the house for the final touchdown of the game. 

Vasquez finished with just seven completions for 64 yards, throwing four interceptions in the process. Brown, meanwhile, torched the Firth secondary for 235 passing yards. 

West Side caps of a 11-0 season, going 32-2 over the last three seasons.