Regular-season finale could be a playoff springboard for Skyline, Bonneville

District 6 Game of the Week

Bonneville vs. Skyline, Ravsten Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.

IDAHO FALLS – It’s the final regular-season weekend, but Friday’s game between the Bees and Grizzlies might have interesting playoff implications.

Skyline (6-2, 3-1) has earned an automatic bid to the state playoffs by finishing second in the 5A High Country Conference and is No. 3 in the MaxPreps rankings.

Bonneville (3-5, 1-3) is 13th in the MaxPreps rankings and likely won’t hurt its standing by playing Skyline and earning an at-large berth.

But what matters is how both teams enter the playoffs.

Skyline had won three straight after its loss to Hillcrest and averaged more than 38 points in the three wins. Defensively, the Grizzlies gave up just 10 points per game during that stretch.

That streak was snapped last week with a 31-14 loss to 6A power Highland and may have been a speed bump for the team’s playoff momentum, but that’s yet to be seen.

A strong performance on Friday could get the Grizzlies back on track.

Bonneville is taking the ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish’ approach.

The Bees opened the season with three tough matchups against Madison, Bishop Kelly and Hillcrest. All were losses.

Conference losses to Blackfoot and Shelley were a setback and puts the Bees in fifth place in the conference. Win or lose, that won’t change, but a competitive game against Skyline would definitely be a boost heading into the postseason.

What to watch for:

Skyline has the top scoring defense in the conference at 17.50 points. The Grizzlies will be tasked to stop Bees running back Aden Mora, who’s been the team’s workhorse.

Mora averages 122 yards rushing per game and leads Bonneville with seven rushing TDs. Sophomore Cooper Stephenson has five rushing scores and Kaine Rodriguez leads the team with five receiving touchdowns.

Bonneville comes off a 49-20 nonconference win over Skyview, setting a season high for points.

Skyline’s main weapon has been speedster Zyan Crockett, who leads the Grizzlies in rushing and receiving yards and has 13 TDs, including two punt returns for scores.