Mountain West High School Football: Who’s Up, Who’s Down Across the Region (Oct. 19, 2026)

All across the Mountain West region, there were some impressive performances across six states from Idaho to the Dakota. Here are some of the highs (and lows) that took place over the weekend.

Box Elder celebrates winning its first outright regional title in over two decades. | Box Elder Football on Instagram

All across the Mountain West region, there were some impressive performances that took place on high school football fields in six states from Idaho to the Dakotas.

High School On SI wanted to look at some of the highs and lows from the region that took place this weekend. Here are some of the highlights we found.

Three Up

Box Elder (UT)

The Bees won their first outright Region 5 championship since 2003, defeating West Field 28-7 to improve to 9-1. Box Elder finished with 335 rushing yards and close to 450 total yards, with Judd Howells running for three touchdowns.

“I couldn’t be prouder of (my players) tonight,” Box Elder coach Carson Mund told the Deseret News. ”They’ve wanted this for a long time, and they put together an exceptional performance.  

Thunder Ridge (ID)

The Titans ended a five-year losing streak to Madison with a thrilling 21-20 victory, getting a 3-yard touchdown run from junior Tayt Nelson with 49.5 seconds remaining followed by a successful PAT by Aaron Lasley.

The Bobcats drove into Thunder Ridge territory on their last-gasp possession, but the Titans forced a turnover on fourth-and-10 to set off a wild celebration. Thunder Ridge, which went 2-7 a year ago, improved to 5-3 as it seeks its first winning season since the school opened in 2018.

Clark/Willow Lake (SD)

The Cyclones completed the first undefeated regular season since the schools began their co-op program in 2009 with a 14-7 victory over Deuel in a Northeast 11B League contest. Joey Ries’ 9-yard touchdown pass to Jakob Steen with 18 seconds left, followed by Steen’s conversion run, lifted them to the win and the No. 3 seed in the upcoming state playoffs.

Three Down

American Fork (UT)

At one point, the Cavemen were 6-1 after defeating Davis and Lone Peak back-to-back, with their only loss to national power Mater Dei (CA).

Now, they limp into the Utah 6A playoffs on a three-game losing streak following a 21-15 loss to Skyridge, dropping to the No. 8 seed and a first-round home game in two weeks against Copper Hills. In their latest defeat, they fell behind 14-0 early and never recovered as Skyridge’s Beckham Bennett finished with 144 total yards and two touchdowns.

Billings Senior (MT)

The Broncs have had their ups and downs over the years, but with one week left in the regular season, they are on the verge of something that hasn’t happened since the last century — going winless in a season. They fell to 0-8 with a 42-3 loss to Great Falls and will finish the year against Gallatin, which is 6-2 and fighting for home-field advantage in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.

Killdeer (ND)

A year ago, the Cowboys reached the Division A semifinals, where they lost 24-22 to Bottineau. They returned only three starters and underwent a coaching change to Will Albrecht, taking over for Andy Cook, but after opening the year with a 42-20 win over Heart River, the season went off the rails. They finished 1-7, closing the season with a 48-6 loss to Central McLean.

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.