1A Division 1 Playoff Outlook

The Valley Vikings face a crucial test Friday on the road against conference rival Challis (Photo Courtesy: Jennifer Heuttig Hardy)

Two weeks left in the regular season in 1A Division 1 football and still plenty of details to iron out. You can view the playoff bracket here, courtesy of IdahoSports.com. For some details, read on ...

District 1-2: 3 teams

If the Season Ended Today: Prairie, Lapwai, TBD

In the Mix: Kamiah, Clearwater Valley

Talk about some big football games over the next two weeks. Prairie has the inside track to seed 1-2A. Lapwai (who defeated Clearwater Valley head-to-head), Kamiah and Clearwater Valley are all 4-1 in White Pine play. Clearwater Valley finished the season home for Prairie and then at Kamiah. A Ram win next week in Kooskia over the Pirates could really muddy the waters. Four teams, three spots, a huge pile of scenarios. Lapwai is at Kamiah this week in another game that has huge ramifications across the board. A Wildcat win would clinch a playoff berth for Lapwai. A Kamiah win doesn’t appear to directly clinch a playoff spot for the Kubs but puts them in an advantageous position going into the following week’s home game against Clearwater Valley.

District 3: 2 teams

If the Season Ended Today: Idaho City, Wilder

In the Mix: Rimrock

Wilder and Idaho City split their two regular-season matchups and, according to the IdahoSports.com broadcast last Friday, a tie between the two for the Western Idaho Conference title would be settled by a coin flip. Which means (potentially) the difference between hosting the third seed out of southern Idaho versus having to travel to Cottonwood to face Prairie in the quarterfinals is literally heads or tails. Rimrock can still throw a wrench into everything by defeating Wilder at home on Friday and then beating Idaho City at home the following Friday.

District 4-5-6: 3 teams

If the Season Ended Today: Valley, Oakley, Challis

In the Mix: Raft River

There are a lot of Butte County fans atop the Snake River Conference this week. A Butte County win over Raft River on Friday sets the three playoff teams – Valley, Oakley and Challis – with just seeding to be determined. Valley is at Challis on Friday. So one of those two teams will get its second conference loss this week which could take them out of conference-championship contention, but not playoff contention. Any of the three can claim “catbird’s seat” status if they win out, but only two of the three can actually win out. So let’s say Challis wins Friday. Catbird-seat status goes to Oakley, who defeated Challis head-to-head. Now, let’s say Valley wins Friday. The premium position shifts toward Valley, who beat Oakley head-to-head. A Challis win also breathes life into Raft River’s hopes (assuming Raft River defeats Butte County), since the Trojans defeated Valley two weeks ago. And check out this possible scenario – if Challis beats Valley on Friday and Raft River beats Butte County (not a given, by any stretch of the imagination), Oakley goes into the final game knowing a win gives the Hornets the top seed out of the district … and a loss knocks them completely out of the playoffs.

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