Lewiston Tribune

October 26, 2020

Four prep football teams out of Class 1A Division I’s supercompetitive Whitepine League were included as state playoff participants when the Idaho High School Activities Association released its postseason brackets early Sunday.

Class 4A Moscow qualified with an at-large berth, while two from the Whitepine League D-II ranks also will see their seasons continue.

Prairie, the classification’s top seed, secured a bye to the 1A D-I quarterfinals with ease.

The defending state champion Pirates (6-0, 5-0), whose closest game this year was a 40-point win, begin play Nov. 6 or 7, either inside Moscow’s Kibbie Dome or at home in Cottonwood, co-athletic director Travis Mader said.

Prairie faces the lowestranked team to advance out of the opening round, which starts Friday and continues through Saturday.

Kamiah clinched No. 2 in the WPL and its spot in the 12-team playoffs with a 16-0 home win against Clearwater Valley on Friday. The No. 7 Kubs (6-2, 4-2), back at State for the first time in five years, host Lapwai at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Wildcats, despite owning just two victories in five games this season — against one-win WPL opponents Potlatch and Troy — snuck in as the No. 10 seed via their ranking in the new MaxPreps computer selection system.

To kick off their third straight trip to the playoffs, the eighthseeded Rams from Kooskia (5- 3, 4-2) are planning to travel to a site in the Boise area for their first-round meeting this weekend with No. 9 Grace (3-4, 2-0 High Desert Conference), CV athletic director and football coach Allen Hutchens said. Specifics are not yet set in stone.

The 4A Bears (3-1, 1-1 Inland Empire League), the No. 13 seed in the 16-team field, must journey 400 miles south to Jerome to take on the fourth-ranked Tigers (7-2, 6-0 Great Basin) at 6 p.m. Pacific on Friday.

Moscow began its season about a month late because of local coronavirus concerns, but impressive wins in its shortened campaign against IEL rival Lakeland and 5A Lewiston — its first defeat of the Bengals in six years — proved enough.

If the Bears topple Jerome, they’ll either play Hillcrest (Ammon) or have a rematch with league foe Sandpoint, which handed Moscow its only loss this year.

Kendrick (5-1, 3-0), the WPL D-II’s champion for a third consecutive season, will get the winner of a first-round matchup between Watersprings (Idaho Falls) and Hansen in the quarterfinals on Nov. 6 or 7. A site and game time are to be determined.

Timberline of Weippe is back in the postseason after a hiatus spanning at least a decade, perhaps two. The surprise Spartans (3-3, 2-1) open State at 6 p.m. Pacific on Friday at Dietrich (7- 0, 3-0 Sawtooth Conference).

Grangeville (3-2, 1-0) and St. Maries (2-1, 1-0) square off in the 2A Central Idaho League finale at 7 p.m. Friday in Grangeville. The winner will be crowned the CIL champion, and claim the league’s lone bid to State.