Mountain West High School Football: Three Up, Three Down After a Wild Weekend

The entire Mountain West region is now into high school football season, with Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas joining the action this week.

From a 2,800-mile road trip that ended with a 34th consecutive victory to a 66-0 defeat, the weekend produced plenty of highs and lows across the region. Here are three teams on the rise — and three headed in the other direction.

Three Up

Coeur d’Alene (ID)

A year ago, the Vikings lost to Silverton (OR) 21-14 to drop to 0-2 for the season. Friday night, they traveled to the Willamette Valley and avenged that defeat in a big way, routing the defending Oregon 5A champion Foxes 37-7. Senior QB Tannar Stern accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for 333 yards and four scores while rushing for another.

“Our offense showed we have some big-play ability which really helped us break the game open,” Vikings associate head coach Vinny Lupinacci told the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Mountain Ridge (UT)

Mountain Ridge added another milestone to its seven-year history, defeating Davis for the first time in a 42-7 rout. Senior QB Jaxon Hunt threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns while Bradley Foster ran for 107 yards and two scores.

“We’re trying to go undefeated,” senior linebacker Easton Stubbs told KSL-TV. “We want a state championship. We had a lot of playmakers come in, and this is a special group. I think this is the best team Mountain Ridge has ever had.”

Star Valley (WY)

The Braves put their school-record win streak on the line 2,800 miles away from home in Soldotna, Alaska, against the Last Frontier’s three-time Division II state champions and came away with a 35-28 victory. It was their 34th straight victory while they handed the Stars just their 11th loss in 20 years under coach Galen Brantley Jr.

Three Down

Highland (ID)

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Rams, who dropped to 0-2 with a 31-19 loss to Box Elder (UT) at the Rocky Mountain Rumble. Last week, it was a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short against Eagle. This time, they couldn’t hold on after grabbing a 19-18 lead after three quarters thanks to the exploits of senior Cedric Mitchell, who amassed more than 200 total yards and scored three touchdowns.

“We’re close,” Rams coach Nick Sorrell told EastIdahoSports.com. “It’s coming down to one or two plays. We talk about fight. We were down 18-6, and things were just spiraling out of control at halftime. We came out, did our thing, and went up by one. Now, we’ve got to learn how to finish.”

Lehi (UT)

The Pioneers have now been outscored 108-0 in consecutive losses after falling 42-0 to Mountain Ridge and 66-0 to The St. James Performance Academy. Lehi managed just 54 total yards and turned the ball over six times while dropping to 1-2 for the season.

Lincoln (SD)

Lincoln entered the weekend ranked No. 20 in the High School On SI Mountain West Football Rankings, but O'Gorman quarterback Chace Hermanson shredded the Patriots for a career-high 496 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 42-35 upset. The victory snapped O'Gorman's four-game losing streak against Lincoln.

Who rises and falls next? High School On SI will return each week with Three Up, Three Down from around the Mountain West high school football scene.

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