We are one week away from the start of the 2026 football season in Idaho, with plenty of dates to circle on the calendar.
To see the schedules for each of the 5A schools, follow this link and click your school.
We decided to highlight some of the 5A matchups that stood out to us on first glance.
Twin Falls at Sandpoint
Friday, August 21 at 7 p.m.
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Sandpoint traveled to Twin Falls last year to open the season and snuck out of town with a 28-27 win in overtime. The Bruins had the last laugh, though, as Twin Falls advanced to the 5A semifinals while Sandpoint’s season ended in the quarterfinals. Could this be a preview of this year’s Final Four? Absolutely.
Columbia at Lewiston
Friday, August 21 at 7 p.m.
The Zane Hobart era at Lewiston started with a tough opener last year. In his first game as the Bengals’ head coach, Columbia defeated Lewiston 24-13. Now the ‘Cats make the long trip north, and both of these programs have high expectations in 2026. An individual matchup to monitor in this one: Columbia offensive tackle Max Barnes blocking against Lewiston standout defensive end Parker Bagley. Both have committed to Boise State.
Century at Blackfoot
Friday, August 28 at 7 p.m.
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Century and Pocatello (both District 5 schools) have officially joined District 6’s High Country Conference, which means this is an extremely important conference game just one week into the season. Century finished 9-1 a year ago, and their first loss was also their last loss: a 22-7 setback to Twin Falls in the 5A quarterfinals. How will the Diamondbacks compete in their new conference, though? A test against the preseason favorite will tell us a lot.
Summit (Oregon) at Bishop Kelly
Friday, September 4 at 7 p.m.
This is part of the Northwest Showdown, an event designed to give the Treasure Valley’s top 6A and 5A schools a chance to play strong programs from Oregon and Washington. Bishop Kelly finished 13-0 and won the Idaho 5A title last year, while Summit (from Bend, Ore.) went 12-1 and took second overall in Oregon’s 5A classification.
Twin Falls at Canyon Ridge
Friday, September 25 at 7 p.m.
It’s the Service Bowl! The annual rivalry game between Twin Falls and Canyon Ridge features camouflage-inspired uniforms and has grown into one of the largest displays of appreciation for our military members and first responders in Idaho. As for the game itself, big brother Twin Falls has handed little brother Canyon Ridge their lumps over the years, but with the Bruins saying goodbye to so many impactful members of last year’s semifinal squad, this year presents the Riverhawks with their best opportunity to score a knockout in some time.
Bonneville at Hillcrest
Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m.
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Another great rivalry game, the Civil War has belonged to Hillcrest lately, as the Knights have won 11 of the past 12 over Bonneville. The Bees’ last triumph came in 2021, but similar to Canyon Ridge and Twin Falls, Hillcrest said goodbye to 30 seniors from last year’s team, so the window is open for a Bonneville team that returns its two best players from a year ago (wide receiver Kaine Rodriguez and linebacker Dallas Jacobsen).
Idaho Falls at Skyline
Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m.
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No rivalry series in Idaho can match the passion and pageantry of the Emotion Bowl. Beginning with the opening of Skyline High in 1966, the two schools have shared the same football field every season, and a rivalry was born. The winner of the Emotion Bowl has the privilege of painting the goal posts in their school color to serve as a reminder of the winner. It stays that way for an entire year until the next Emotion Bowl is played. With victories in 10 of the past 11 Emotion Bowls, let’s just say Skyline has a running tab at Sherwin-Williams.
Lakeland at Lewiston
Friday, October 9 at 7 p.m.
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No league was more competitively balanced in 2025 than the 5A Inland Empire League. Its three combatants (Lakeland, Sandpoint and Lewiston) all took turns beating each other in the regular season. Lewiston started with a 54-27 romp of Sandpoint, then Sandpoint turned back Lakeland 31-27, and finally, Lakeland defeated Lewiston 43-17 in the regular season finale. All of that equal-opportunity beating led to a wild Kansas City Tiebreaker to determine the regular season champion. The three teams met at Coeur d’Alene High on the Monday after the regular season concluded, with the winner not only securing the IEL title, but a home game for the first round of the playoffs as well. Lewiston won the Kansas City Tiebreaker, and the right to host a first round playoff game. Their playoff opponent? Lakeland. So for those keeping score at home, the Bengals and Hawks played each other in consecutive weeks, with a Kansas City Tiebreaker between the teams thrown in for fun. Lakeland completed the sweep of Lewiston with a gritty 28-27 win in overtime, and the Bengals have used that loss as fuel throughout the entire offseason.
Hillcrest at Skyline
Friday, October 16 at 7 p.m.
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Hillcrest and Skyline have each reached at least the semifinals three years in a row. Hillcrest defeated Skyline in the 2023 semis 35-31 before falling to Bishop Kelly in the championship. In 2024, the Knights and Grizzlies met for the championship, with Hillcrest securing a 31-8 win. In 2025, Hillcrest reached its third consecutive state championship game with a semifinal win over Twin Falls, while Skyline lost to eventual state champ Bishop Kelly by a single point, 21-20. This year’s matchup will be the sixth in four years between these two. It’s a bit of a reloading year for both programs, but by this point in the year, I’m sure they’ll both be making postseason plans. Heck, this game could even decide the 5A High Country Conference regular season title.
Sandpoint at Lakeland
Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m.
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Could this matchup in Rathdrum decide the regular season IEL title? Despite the overall success of both programs recently, Sandpoint has claimed eight of the past nine meetings. Lakeland plays a ground-and-pound style of offense with senior running back Griffin Tamagni, while Sandpoint relies on the speed of running back Jensen Sheetz and wide receiver Brock Yarbrough.
Twin Falls at Minico
Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m.
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You can pretty much set your watch by it: Twin Falls and Minico have played for the Great Basin Conference regular season crown each of the past five seasons. Minico won the matchups in 2021, 2022 and 2024. Twin Falls claimed victories in 2023 and 2025. Trivia time! Who was the last team besides Twin Falls or Minico to finish first or second in this conference? The Jerome Tigers, who finished a perfect 6-0 in league play back in 2020.