EASTERN IDAHO — Seven schools from Districts 5 and 6 will host playoff games this weekend, three of which will welcome local schools.

Another 10 teams will travel to open their tournament.

Add in Sugar-Salem and Rigby, each of whom earned first-round byes, and Eastern Idaho is well represented in this year’s state tournament.

6A

No. 11 Highland (6-3) at West No. 3 Middleton (5-4), Friday, 7 p.m.

The wait paid off for Highland, which needed an at-large berth to earn its postseason berth after losing its final three regular-season games. Quarterback Keaton Belnap threw nine touchdowns and ran for another six.

Middleton had lost two games in a row before beating Mountain View 17-14 to end the regular season.

West No. 6 Capital (3-6) at East No. 2 Madison (8-1), Friday 7 p.m.

Madison finished strong with impressive wins over (5A) Minico and state and conference power Highland. The last two games showcased the Bobcats’ defense, which shut out Minico and beat the Rams 42-7. The defense, with 14.67 points per game, led the conference.

Capital lost its first six games of the season, but held off Middleton and Borah to close out the regular season. Four different receivers have at least two touchdown receptions and senior Marcellus Clay has rushed for eight scores.

5A

No. 16 Nampa (4-5) at No. 1 Skyline (7-2), Friday 7 p.m.

The Grizzlies had a rough start to the season, losing two of their first three games. However, since then, QB CarMyne García and the Skyline offense have averaged 35.5 points per game winning six straight games.

The Bulldogs have lost consecutively, allowing 78 points in those two losses.

No. 13 Pocatello (5-3) at No. 4 Bishop Kelly (8-1), Friday 7 p.m.

The Thunder suffered a somewhat surprising 48-28 loss at Preston two weeks ago, but bounced back with a 27-3 home win over Century last week.

Pocatello is shorthanded on the offensive side of the ball, has several injuries and hasn’t won a true road game since beating Idaho Falls on Sept. 6.

The Knights have won six straight after suffering their only loss in Rigby.

No. 15 Sandpoint (3-6) at No. 2 Hillcrest (6-3), Friday 7 p.m.

The Knights suffered just one loss to a 5A opponent, falling to Skyline on September 20. Their other two losses came at the hands of 6A powers Madison and Rigby.

QB Tyson Sweetwood has the offense clicking, scoring 100 points between his last two games.

The Bulldogs finished last in the six-team Inland Empire 5A/6A League Conference and have lost five in a row, earning their last win on Sept. 13.

No. 10 Blackfoot (5-4) at No. 7 Preston (4-5), Friday 7 p.m.

The Blackfoot Broncos have neither won nor lost consecutive games this season and are coming off a 20-14 victory over Shelley last week. They are 3-2 on the road this season and will be away from home on Friday.

Preston, on the other hand, has won three straight, including a decisive conference win over Pocatello two weeks ago.

The two teams met in Blackfoot on August 30. The Broncos won that game, 34-28.

No. 14 Shelley (3-6) at No. 3 Lakeland (7-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

The Russets finished their season with just one win in their last five games, while the Hawks are currently on a four-game winning streak.

Shelley is 3-0 when scoring 30 points or more, so they’ll need an offensive outburst to have any hope of an upset victory.

No. 11 Bonneville (4-5) at No. 6 Vallivue (6-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

The Bees also find themselves in a tough matchup. For Bonneville, however, it was the defense that decided the game.

They are 4-1 when allowing fewer than 28 points.

Bonneville’s defense has its work cut out for it against a Vallivue offense that has scored more than 40 goals three times this year.

4A

No. 9 McCall-Donnelly (6-3) No. 8 Snake River (5-4), Saturday, noon

The Vandals come to Blackfoot having lost back-to-back games following back-to-back 40-point wins.

The Panthers have been consistently streaky. They began their season with three straight losses, but followed that up with a five-game winning streak, including back-to-back massive conference wins over Marsh Valley and American Falls. They lost to Preston, 30-14, last week.

No. 12 Teton (2-6) at No. 5 Fruitland (7-2), Friday 6 p.m.

Teton appears to be fighting an uphill battle with the Grizzlies. Fruitland’s two losses came at the hands of Homesdale and Weiser, the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the state, respectively.

The Timberwolves will look to repeat their victories over Century and South Fremont, when they scored a combined 75 points.

No. 10 Marsh Valley (5-3) at No. 7 Buhl (6-2), Friday 7 p.m.

The Eagles got off to a promising 4-1 start, but stumbled down the stretch and lost two of their last three.

Buhl is going in the opposite direction, having won four of the last five.

No. 11 American Falls (5-4) at No. 6 Moscow (7-2), Friday 7 p.m.

The Beavers were another of the 4A South East Idaho Conference teams that struggled to find consistency. None of the conference’s four teams recorded more than four wins.

American Falls scored more than 27 points just once this season and will likely need those points against a Moscow team that averaged 31.8 points per game.

3A

3A seeding will be determined by play-in. The eight teams that received at-large berths will play this weekend, Friday and Saturday, with the winners facing the district champions.

Priest River (6-2) at Aberdeen (7-1), Saturday 3:00 p.m.

Priest River opened its season with back-to-back losses, but has been unbeatable since. The Spartans have scored more than 40 points four times en route to a six-game winning streak.

The Tigers suffered their first and only loss of the season two weeks ago at West Side. Behind a dynamic read-option attack, Aberdeen earned a second-place finish in the Southeastern Idaho Conference, in which Aberdeen, West Side and Declo finished with an identical 4-1 conference record.

Malad (3-5) at West Side (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Speaking of West Side, they are one of the few schools hosting a conference showdown this weekend.

In a rare occurrence in high school playoff football, the Dragons and Pirates are coming off a matchup last week, which was also played on the West Side.

The Pirates won a close battle, 29-20.

Marsing (6-2) at Ririe (6-2), Friday, 6 p.m.

In what will likely be a very entertaining and competitive matchup, the Huskies will go to Ririe after back-to-back wins.

The Bulldogs, who have won three straight, are responsible for one of Marsing’s two losses, defeating the Huskies, 49-18, on the road in September.

West Jefferson (4-4) at North Fremont (5-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

In another one of those intraconference matchups, the Huskies and Panthers also met a week ago, again, in the same place: North Fremont.

West Jefferson won that game, 20-7.

2A

Like 3A, 2A will have a play-in round to determine tournament seeding.

Grace (5-4) at Prairie (6-3), Friday, 6 p.m.

The Grizzlies never built any kind of momentum this season, posting consecutive wins just once all year. But they also did not suffer any negative momentum, completely avoiding consecutive losses.

They are coming off a decisive conference loss in Butte County and will travel to Cottonwood, where the Pirates await.

Prairie is also coming off a conference loss to Kendrick.

1A

1A seeding will also be determined through a play-in round that will take place on Friday and Saturday.

Challis (5-3) vs. Dietrich (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

The Vikings’ success has depended on the offense. Challis has a combined six points in its three losses this season. They average 48 points per game in five wins.

Similarly, the explosive Blue Devils, No. 2 in MaxPreps’ final 1A power rankings, were held to just six points in their only loss.

Expect a lot of points on this one, or none at all.

North Gem (4-5) at Tri-Valley (8-1), Friday, 4 p.m.

The Cowboys appear to be facing a difficult task, facing a Tri-Valley Titan team whose only loss this season came at the hands of the top-seeded Council.

Like Dietrich, Tri-Valley ranks high in the MaxPreps 1A power rankings (finished third) and is coming off a 70-0 win at Horseshoe Bend.