On Friday night in the IDHSAA 5A State Quarterfinals the #1 Rocky Mountain Grizzlies handled the #12 Kuna Kavemen by a score of 35-7. They were led by star quarterback Austin Rovig who was 8/16 with 122 yards through the air, and WR/RB Jeff Thompson who scored 3 total touchdowns and had 165 total yards on the night. On the defensive side Trey Broadbent had a fumble recovery and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown and that fumble was forced by Nevada commit Isaiah Reed. RB Taeshaun Reese had a 1 YD rushing touchdown to finish off the scoring for Rocky. Rocky’s performance on both sides of the ball was why this game was never competitive but the defensive performance was even more impressive than the offense holding Kuna to just 7 points. I had the chance to get an interview with starting Sophomore CB Ryker Clyde to ask him about the game, his performance, and the road ahead for the Grizzlies. These are some of the things he had to say, “I think as an overall unit, the game vs Kuna went pretty well. There were some things that we can improve on going forward, but we played well. Preparation for Kuna was really just trusting in my guys around me and trusting in the coaches and their gameplan for that week.” I asked Ryker how he thought he played he said, “I played my role well against Kuna.” Finally I asked him about the upcoming matchup vs Rigby. “As a team we are really just going to do our thing and play how we play… nothing special just another week of football.”
The loss for Kuna ended their season with a 5-6 final record. For Rocky they look ahead to next Friday where they will face off with the #2 team in the state, the Rigby Trojans who beat Post Falls in the quarterfinal 52-21. These two teams have been dominate all year with Rigby’s only loss being to Coeur D’Alene in their opener. The two semifinal matchups will be Rigby @ Rocky Friday at 7:00 and Eagle @ Coeur D’Alene Friday at 7:00. The two winners will play in the 6A State Championship Game. Rocky has eyes on their 4th state championship trophy but if they want to win it, it’s going to be an uphill battle.
