Buckle up: Playoff brackets are set as the chase for state championships begins this week

Hillcrest quarterback Tyson Sweetwood tosses a pass downfield during Friday’s game against Idaho Falls. | Courtesy Amy Ward. EAST IDAHO – The football playoff pairings are (mostly) now official. Here’s a look at the opening-round matchups for area teams. 6A As the No. 1 seed in the East, Rigby has a bye to open the playoffs. Eagle (West 1B), Timberline (West 1A), and Coeur d’Alene (North) are the other No. 1 seeds and each has a bye and will host the next round games. Madison, which beat Highland in their regular-season finale, is the No. 2 seed in the East and will host Boise, which is an at-large team. Highland finished third in the 6A High Country Conference and earned an at-large berth. The Rams will travel to Mountain View for Friday’s opener. The winner of that game will play at Rigby in the second round. 6A bracket. 5A The 5A bracket is set to be finalized on Tuesday, but some games are already scheduled. Defending state champion Hillcrest is the top seed and will host No. 16 Shelley on Friday. Skyline is the third seed and will play a yet-to-be-determined opponent at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello on Friday. Unbeaten Bishop Kelly is the No. 2 seed and is in the bottom half of the bracket, setting up a potential semifinal showdown with the Grizzlies. Since Shelley made the playoffs at No. 16, Bonneville (13) and Blackfoot (6), as well as South East Idaho Conference champion Century (9), will be in the bracket. 5A bracket. 4A Fruitland earned the No. 1 seed, and along with Kimberly (4), Sugar-Salem (3) and Homedale (3), has a bye in round one. American Falls is seeded fifth and hosts No. 12 Bonners Ferry on Friday. Teton is No. 11 and is at No. 6 Weiser on Saturday. Snake River, at No. 7, hosts No. 10 Gooding on Friday. 4A bracket. 3A Ririe, which just completed its first unbeaten regular-season in school history, is the No. 1 overall seed, with defending champion West Side seeded second. As expected, eastern Idaho was well represented in the bracket. North Fremont, the No. 1 at-large team, will host Firth on Friday. Aberdeen, the No. 2 at large team, will host Melba on Saturday. West Jefferson, the No. 3 at-large team, will play Malad, the sixth at-large team, Friday at the ICCU Dome. Declo, the No. 4 at-large team, hosts New Plymouth on Friday. 3A bracket. 2A Kendrick is the No. 1 seed and will play No. 8 Notus in the second round. The rest of the bracket seeding is not complete, but Grace, the High Desert Conference champion, has a first-round bye. 2A bracket. 1A Challis is the Rocky Mountain Conference champion and earned the conference’s lone bid as a No. 5 seed. The Vikings will host No. 12 Garden Valley on Friday. 1A bracket.The post Buckle up: Playoff brackets are set as the chase for state championships begins this week appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com