It’s Civil War time as Bonneville hosts Hillcrest

DISTRICT 6 GAME OF THE WEEK

Hillcrest (1-0) at Bonneville (0-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

IDAHO FALLS – Throw out the records for this one. Anything can happen in a big rivalry game.

OK, enough with the clichés.

This week’s Civil War game between Hillcrest and Bonneville means only one thing for each team.

For Hillcrest, it’s the second game of a long season in what is shaping up to be another postseason run.

For Bonneville, it’s a chance to show improvement after an 0-2 start and being outscored 83-23.

The Bees’ schedule has been brutal and doesn’t get any easier against the 5A state champion Knights.

Bonneville lost to Madison and Bishop Kelly. Madison received votes in the 6A state media poll and Bishop Kelly is No. 2 behind Hillcrest in the 5A poll.

Hillcrest opened its season last week with a 23-22 win over Madison.

It was far from a perfect game from Hillcrest as coach Brennon Mossholder noted, but not unexpected in a season opener. Expect better execution this week.

Offensively, Bonneville’s Aden Mora leads the team with 142 rushing yards and Kaine Rodriguez has been the go-to player in the passing game with 12 catches and two touchdowns.

Defensively, can Bonneville stop 5A Player of the Year Tyson Sweetwood, who passed for a score and also ran for a touchdown in the win over Madison?

Dax Sargent was also a force in the running game with seven yards per carry and a score.

As for the rivalry theme of the Civil War game, Hillcrest has won 10 of the past 11 matchups.

Despite the history, the bottom line is that this game is also a conference opener, so that adds to the importance to the outcome in a conference that typically gets five of the six teams into the playoffs.