Unbeaten West Side meets unbeaten rival Declo in key mid-season showdown

DECLO — The West Side Pirates and Declo Hornets have met in four of the last six state tournaments — twice for the championship. Their rivalry is both intense and bitter, and it will be renewed Friday when the Pirates travel to Declo High School for the East Idaho Sports District 5 Game of the Week.

West Side has gotten the better of its District 4 foe of late, winning six of eight meetings since 2020, including all four playoff matchups.

This year’s version of the Pirates (4-0, 0-0) is led by senior running back Drake Sage, who averages more than 150 rushing yards per game. Sage — along with his older brother, Crew Sage — was integral to West Side’s success in 2024, the last time they met the Hornets (5-0) in the state championship game.

Declo is led by junior quarterback Traecyn Thaxton, who has accounted for 11 touchdowns — nine passing and two rushing — through the Hornets’ first five games. He averages 181.6 pass yards and 17.2 rush yards per game.

West Side and Declo have been present on the media’s top-5 list all season, with the Pirates currently sitting at No. 1, with nine of 10 first-place votes, and the Hornets at No. 3 in this week’s poll. According to the MaxPreps rankings, which are used for state tournament seeding, West Side is second among 3A squads — behind Melba, owners of the 10th firs-place media vote — with Declo in third place.

That is to say, this September game will almost certainly decide seeding when the tournament starts in November.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Declo.