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1. Ky Kendall (Hagerman)
Game-turning interception and return for a score to put his team on top. Game-saving fumble recovery at the goal line in the final seconds. And another big game receiving (7 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs). A game for the ages for the Hagerman senior against Valley.
2. Connor Perkins (Dietrich)
The senior was dominant in a quarterfinal win over Cascade, throwing for five touchdowns, running for two more, and returning a pair of punts for scores as well. Nine touchdowns for the Blue Devils in all.
3. Razor Duke (Butte County)
Duke had four touchdown runs, a touchdown reception, and 183 yards of total offense (150 rushing yards, 33 receiving yards) on just eight touches. He also had three sacks on defense in Butte County's win over Rimrock.
Honorable Mention
Madden Perkes (Carey)
Cole Olson (Cascade)
Wade Vining (Council)
Max Yearsley (Garden Valley)
Braden Kimball (Grace)
Todd Roberts (Kamiah)
Orion Stewart (Kendrick)
Seamus Wilson (Logos)
Riley Gonzalez (Rimrock)
Aidan Radford (Rockland)
Jace Waggoner (Tri-Valley)
Josh Hardy (Valley)
Cooper Miller (Wallace)
Unforgettable Ending in Hazelton
The stars shone brightly on Friday night when Valley hosted Hagerman in a 2A quarterfinal game. Wyatt Mavencamp and Shaymus Merrill made big plays for the Pirates while Josh Hardy and Pedro Robles made big plays for the Vikings. Thomas Vargas, Nathan Christensen, Ky Kendall, and more contributed to a thriller that exceeded everyone's expectations. With just over a minute to go, Valley led by four and was attempting to run out the clock when Kendall stepped in front of a pass and outran everyone in Jerome County for the go-ahead touchdown for Hagerman - 98 yards in all. Valley wasn't done, though, as Hardy (549 yards of total offense in the contest) gamely led his team back into scoring position in the closing seconds, but the Pirate defense forced a fumble at the goal line. Again, it was Kendall pouncing on the loose football to secure the incredible win for Hagerman to advance to the 2A semifinals.
Head East Young Men
Both 1A semifinal games will be played at Pocatello's ICCU Dome (formerly Holt Arena) on Friday night despite the lack of a District 5/6 team in the game. Two teams from District 3 will chase two teams from District 4 east to Pocatello for the games, with Dietrich facing Tri-Valley at 5:30 followed by Carey facing Garden Valley at 8:15. It's not uncommon for this to happen - the ICCU Dome provides a controlled environment as the weather begins to get dicey around Idaho. A third 8-man semifinal - the 2A matchup between Butte County and Hagerman - will also be played at the ICCU Dome on Thursday night at 5:30 . Kendrick and Logos, both from District 2, will play their 2A semifinal game at Lewiston High School on Friday.
One Final Salute
If you read this column regularly, you've heard about Rimrock's do-everything star Ronaldo Gomez. The senior led the Raiders to a conference title this season and a spot in the 2A state playoffs, but, in the first half of the team's quarterfinal loss to Butte County on Thursday, Gomez suffered a badly injured ankle. He tried to gut it out but the injury eventually kept him off the field. Before the injury, he had a touchdown pass and a kickoff return for a score in what wound up being his final high school football game (and he even kicked a point-after-touchdown in the fourth quarter despite the injury) but, man, what a career. In 28 games, Gomez rushed and passed for more than 3,000 yards (3,361 rushing and 3,176 passing) and had a hand in almost 100 touchdowns (46 passing, 46 rushing, three kickoff returns, two interception returns) for the Raiders.
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