District 5 quarterfinal preview: Rockland and West Side at home, Highland on the road in the second round

EASTERN IDAHO — Of the three Idaho High School Football State Championships quarterfinal games involving District 5 teams, two will be at home, and two will feature rematches of regular-season games.

Highland cruised to a first-round victory over Lake City, earning a quarterfinal rematch with Eagle. West Side, coming off a bye, will host Ririe, whom they beat by two touchdowns on Sept. 11. And Rockland, also coming off a bye, will host Castleford, a team it has not seen since 2023.

Here’s what is on the menu for District 5 quarterfinal action:

No. 5 Highland (5-5) vs. No. 4 Eagle (6-3) at Eagle High School, Friday at 7 p.m.

The Rams are coming off two of their best performances of the year in back-to-back weeks, after beating Lake City 31-0 at Highland High School in Saturday’s first-round action.

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Now, they will travel to the Treasure Valley to visit the Eagle Mustangs in the quarterfinals of the 6A state tournament. Eagle and Highland opened their seasons against each other in a Week 0 33-28 Mustangs victory at Highland.

RELATED | Highland’s comeback attempt falls just short in home opener against Eagle

Senior running back Cedric Mitchell was big in that season-opening loss, scoring three rushing touchdowns. Senior Kona Baldwin caught eight passes for 91 yards, and senior quarterback Jacob Vincent threw for 241 yards.

But the Ram defense struggled against the Eagle offense. That and a costly Vincent interception were Highland’s ultimate undoing.

Not only has the Highland defense not allowed 30 points in a game since Aug. 28, it is averaging 10.25 points allowed per game over the last eight games — including back-to-back shutouts.

With a win, the Rams would qualify for the semifinals for the first time since winning the title in 2023.

No. 1 West Side (9-0) vs. No. 11 Ririe (5-5) at West Side High School, Friday at 7 p.m.

The Pirates will continue their mission to bring home the eighth state championship under current head coach Tyson Moser — who is in his 19th season leading the program.

West Side won the top prize in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, but lost to eventual state champion Nampa Christian in the semis last year. They will look to reclaim their spot at the top of the 3A classification, and that journey starts Friday when they host the Bulldogs.

Ririe has already visited Dayton once this season, on Sept. 11, when they lost to the Pirates, 34-20.

No team has put more than 20 points on the board against West Side this season — Soda Springs also scored 20 against the Pirates. But the Ririe will need more from its defense in order to keep upset aspirations in line.

The Pirates have not lost a game at West Side High School since Oct. 6, 2023, going 17-0 since that 27-26 loss to rival Declo.

Ririe is 3-2 on the road this season, including a 22-20 victory at Buhl in the opening round of the state tournament last week.

Both teams appeared in the semis last year, with the Bulldogs falling in the championship game to the same Nampa Christian team that knocked out West Side.

No. 2 Rockland (9-0) vs. No. 7 Castleford (8-1) at Rockland High School, Friday at 2 p.m.

The Bulldogs appear to be on a collision course with No. 1 Kendrick (9-0). But a potential showdown between the two teams that have dominated the 1A classification all season must wait until they survive two more weeks.

Rockland will be at home this week against the Wolves.

The Bulldogs are led by a trio of seniors, Zach Permann, Xavier Parrish and Ty Woodworth.

Parrish has thrown for 1,860 yards and 39 touchdowns — with just three interceptions — and run for another 432 yards and five scores. Woodworth does most of his work on the defensive end, leading the team with 92 total tackles, but does own a pair of receiving touchdowns this season.

Permann, a reigning First-Team All-State running back and Second-Team All-State linebacker, is up to his old tricks.

He has compiled 724 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, 663 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air, 192 yards and three scores on kick returns and 151 yards and two scores on interception returns.

Despite sitting through more fourth quarters than they have played this season, the senior trio has led one of the highest-scoring offenses and stingiest defenses in the classification.

The Bulldogs have scored 582 points this season (64.7 per game), while allowing 89 (9.9), for a 54.8-point average margin of victory.

Castleford has been held to 20 or fewer points three times this season, including in a 20-6 victory over Hansen in the first round. They have allowed 20-plus five times this season.

Both teams faced the Mackay Miners this season. The Wolves beat Mackay 34-20 on Aug. 28. Rockland took down its conference rival 61-8 on Oct. 9.

Rockland owns one state tournament win over the last four seasons combined.