Game of the Week Preview: There’s more than bragging rights on the line between Skyline and Hillcrest

GAME OF THE WEEK
Hillcrest vs. Skyline, Ravsten Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.

IDAHO FALLS — It’s just the second game on the High Country Conference schedule for both teams, but the conference title and playoff seeding may be on the line Friday when the Hillcrest Knights and Skyline Grizzlies kick off.

Defending conference champion Hillcrest High School (1-0, 2-1) have won two straight and continue to look sharp on offense with the development of junior quarterback Tyson Sweetwood, who passed for 182 yards and ran for 132 yards and three scores in last week’s win over Thunder Ridge.

Skyline High School (1-2,1-0) has played a tough schedule and came within a 2-point conversion of knocking off 6A unbeaten Madison last week. Also, the Grizzlies sport the top scoring defense in the conference, at 18 points per game.

Keys to the game:

Skyline has not only been the team to beat in conference, the Grizzlies have been a state power, winning titles three of the past four years. Last year it was the Knight’s knocking Skyline off its perch, winning a wild regular-season game with a last-second Hail Mary pass for a TD, and then downing the Grizzlies in a hard-fought state semifinal.

None of that matters on Friday, other than the fact that the winner has the upper hand toward a conference title.

Blackfoot and Bonneville already have a conference loss, and Idaho Falls and Shelley have struggled early on.

The good news is that up to five of the six conference teams have earned postseason berths in the past, so any win is a big win.

But barring an upset during the season, the Knights and Grizzlies are the frontrunners and one of the teams will set themselves apart on Friday.