Idaho High School Football Playoffs Kick Off Halloween Night with Five Must-Watch First-Round Games

The race to the Milk Bowl begins under the Halloween lights, with several compelling matchups across the Gem State — from Highland’s clash with Mountain View to Lakeland’s rematch with Lewiston and more.

Highland travels to Mountain View this week for a 6A first-round playoff matchup. / Dave Argyle SBLive

Halloween is not just about trick-or-treaters for Idaho prepsters. The high school football postseason kicks off on that night, and High School on SI Idaho will have all the scores you need in one place.

With the top 6A and 4A teams getting the week off having earned first-round byes, there are still many compelling matchups on this opening night of the race to the Milk Bowl. Here are five we’re watching over the weekend.

No. 10 Highland (6-3) at No. 14 Mountain View (6-3), Friday

The marquee matchup of the 6A first round should not even be taking place but for a late score report to MaxPreps leading to the Rams avoiding a trip to No. 4 Rocky Mountain and instead getting the Mavericks, who earned a first-round home game by thrashing Meridian in an SIC crossover playoff.

Highland will look to get junior RB Cedric Mitchell (785 yards, nine TDs) untracked after Madison bottled him up in last week’s 28-17 Bobcats victory that cost the Rams a chance at hosting in the first round. Mountain View senior QB Henry Nelson has thrown for 1,940 yards and 23 touchdowns, with six different receivers catching 12 or more passes.

Lakeland (8-1) at Lewiston (3-6), Friday

This will be the third time in a week that these teams will tangle on the gridiron. The Hawks beat the Bengals 42-17 in the season finale to forge a three-way tie atop the 5A Inland Empire League, necessitating a three-team Kansas Plan tiebreaker to determine who would get to play host to a first-round game. 

Lewiston won the decisive mini-game 8-7 to earn the right to stay home and now must figure out how to slow RB Griffin Tamagni for 48 minutes after the Hawks junior ran for a career-high 241 yards and four touchdowns in their Week 9 victory.

Blackfoot (6-3) at Vallivue (5-4), Friday

The Falcons’ season turned around when their standout senior RB Onix Carson returned from injury, with him running for 867 yards and 11 touchdowns as they went 5-2 to secure a 5A playoff berth. The Broncos will counter with a balanced attack directed by senior QB Austin Arave, who’s thrown for 1,526 yards and 18 touchdowns, and also featuring senior RB Cade Esplin (730 yards, 14 TDs).

McCall-Donnelly (5-4) at Buhl (6-2), Friday

Buhl needed a double-overtime win over Filer last week to nab the No. 8 seed in the 4A playoffs and a first-round home game against the Vandals, who feature a double-barreled run game with seniors Cole Value (909 yards, 10 TDs) and Gunnar Newman (855 yards, 10 TDs). 

New Plymouth (6-3) at Declo (5-4), Friday

The Pilgrims are back in the 3A playoffs for the first time since 2019 thanks to a five-game win streak that was snapped last week by Nampa Christian in a game that decided the Western Idaho Conference title. Their task against the Hornets, who played for the state title a year ago, is to slow sophomore QB Traecyn Thaxton (1,394 yards, 16 TDs).