Prep football: ‘This year is different.’ Boise ends 32-game losing streak to Capital

Icing the kicker is a common tactic in football where coaches call a timeout — or several — right before a kicker attempts a field goal, in hopes of getting in his head.

Capital employed that strategy with back-to-back timeouts when Boise kicker Travis Bartich lined up for a field goal with 8 seconds left in a tie game Friday at Homedale High School.

“I mean, they shouldn’t have done it,” Bartich said. “Because it gave me a lot of time to calm my nerves and put that through the uprights.”

[Related: Saturday’ high school football recap]

Bartich nailed the 31-yard field goal to cap a historic night for the Brave, who defeated the Eagles 36-33 for their first win in the Boise School District rivalry since 1988.

“It is definitely something that was on our radar. We talked about it quite a bit,” Boise coach Mike Altieri said. “Capital is a great team, and we knew that we were going to have to do something special tonight, and it was going to be a dogfight.

“Obviously, we haven’t beat those guys for a long time. It feels good.”

Boise’s victory in the 2024 season opener for both teams, which was moved to Homedale because of unhealthy air quality throughout the Treasure Valley, ended a stretch of 32 straight losses to Capital.

And it was quite the debut for Bartich, who joined the football team for the first time this season and is also a goalie for the boys soccer team.

“This is my first time in pads kicking. First extra points, and that’s my first field goal, so it’s a great feeling,” Bartich said. “I couldn’t have done it without the support of all the coaches, especially Coach Altieri, and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates getting all those points up for us.”

The score was tied at 26 after three quarters, and Capital went ahead 33-26 on a 58-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Braden Dudley to senior receiver Jack Smith with 4:55 to play.

Boise answered on its ensuing drive with a 47-yard TD pass from junior QB Trevor Schoolfield to junior receiver Eli Rich with 3:18 on the clock.

Capital (0-1) then set itself up for a go-ahead field goal from 26 yards out with 1:36 to play, only to have it blocked.

And after years of finding itself on the losing end of the scoreboard to the Eagles, the Brave (1-0) finally came through with a game-winning drive.

Schoolfield completed three first-down passes and absorbed a roughing-the-passer penalty, while freshman running back Jaden Walker added a 13-yard run to bring the Brave all the way down to the Capital 13-yard line with 8 seconds left, setting up Bartich’s game winner.

“We’re dogs. We kept on fighting. We never gave up,” said Boise sophomore running back Logan McDonald, who scored a pair of touchdowns. “We’re not really known for that. A lot of times Boise just gives up. But this year is different. We came back and we fought.”

Schoolfield finished 23-for-33 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Rich was his top target, hauling in eight receptions for 130 yards and two scores.

Dudley paced Capital, completing 14-of-22 pass attempts for 320 yards, three TDs and a pick. Junior running back Zander Grow totaled 139 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and senior Austin Brown caught two passes for 111 yards, including an 87-yard TD reception in the third quarter.

TIMBERLINE 24, BORAH 22

Borah knew Timberline (1-0) junior kick returner Hudson Lewis was dangerous, so the Lions avoided him all night. But teammate Austin Engroff found a way to get Lewis the football anyway.

Trailing by one with 25 seconds left, Engroff pitched it to Lewis on a kickoff return, and Lewis sprinted 75 yards to the Borah 15-yard line.

Sophomore kicker Hagen Clint then booted a 32-yard field goal as time expired to send Timberline to a victory over Borah in the season opener for both teams, which was also played in Homedale.

“That kid is just dynamite with a ball in his hands, and we know it,” Timberline coach Ian Smart said. “We didn’t even call that. But again, we have a lot of guys that just understand the game. Austin Engroff fielded it, and he knew that the fastest guy on our team has to have the ball at that point. And so, man, I’m just proud of him.”

Lewis and Engroff orchestrated a similar play on Timberline’s freshman football team two years ago. And with the game on the line Friday, they decided to try it again.

“I know he’s our best player, and I just put my trust in him,” Engroff said. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna do the one thing (Borah) doesn’t want to happen.’”

Jack Brandt led Timberline by going 20-for-31 for 214 passing yards and three TDs. Lewis grabbed four catches for 19 yards and two TDs, but Brandt’s top receiver was Heath Res, who finished with eight catches for 127 yards.

Borah (0-1) quarterback Dylan Lukenga went 17-for-31 for 204 yards and two TDs. And Austin Flaherty blocked a third-quarter punt, which Booker Barrus scooped up and ran back 40 yards for a touchdown.

MOUNTAIN VIEW 24, WOODS CROSS (UT) 21

The Mavericks (1-0) rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter for a victory in the opening game of the 17th Rocky Mountain Rumble at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello.

Mountain View’s Valentin Gomez-Rick provided the Mavericks the final lead when he took a toss around the left edge for a 2-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter. Mavericks quarterback Hank Nelson also threw for two scores.

Individual stats were not reported.

[Related: Predicting the winner of all 26 games in Week 1]

[Related: Preseason rankings for 6A SIC, 5A SIC, 4A SRV, 3A WIC, 2A WIC and 1A Long Pin]

BISHOP KELLY 28, BONNEVILLE 20

The Knights jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for a nonconference win in Idaho Falls.

Bishop Kelly (1-0) quarterback Ben Avella went 15-for-28 for 255 yards and three touchdowns, including both first-quarter strikes. Dom Wolthuis hauled in four catches for 100 yards and a TD, and Tylan Kaschmitter ran for 76 yards and a score.

Bishop Kelly led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter and held off a late Bonneville rally.

POCATELLO 29, SKYVIEW 23

Pocatello quarterback Hunter May threw 7- and 50-yard touchdown passes in the final six minutes as the Thunder (1-0) scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally for a nonconference road win Thursday at Skyview.

May finished 8-for-20 for 168 yards and three TDs, and he ran for 123 yards and another score.

Mason Krahn led Skyview (0-2) with 195 total yards and a touchdown on 24 offensive touches. Henry Downey also ran for 108 yards and a score.

FRUITLAND 35, EMMETT 21

The Grizzlies racked up 479 yards of offense to beat Emmett for the first time since 2014.

Sophomore quarterback Titus Vidlak led Fruitland (2-0) with five touchdowns. He went 19-for-26 for 216 yards and three TDs through the air, and he ran for 55 yards and two more scores.

Fruitland’s Kaden Mackenzie ran for 167 of the Grizzlies’ 263 yards. And Joel Philpot, Coye Coffman and Spencer Tracy each caught a touchdown pass from Vidlak.

Stats for Emmett (1-1) were not reported.

PAYETTE 47, PARMA 6

After a scoreless first quarter, the Pirates found the end zone on five straight possessions and added a 42-yard, pick-six interception from Ethan Chase to run away with a home victory.

Payette (1-0) quarterback Darien Pecunia had a hand in four touchdowns. He finished 6-for-11 for 52 yards and two scores through the air, and he ran for a game-high 78 yards and two more TDs.

Michael Ocampo caught two passes for 40 yards and two TDs, while Payette’s defense held Parma (0-1) to 104 total yards and forced four turnovers.

Clayton Troyer scored the Panthers’ only points with a 5-yard TD run in the third quarter.

BUHL 9, WEISER 6

Javier Dominguez drilled a 27-yard field goal with 1:51 left to lead the Indians to an upset of No. 3-ranked Weiser (0-1) on their home field Thursday. It was his first career field goal, KMVT reported.

Weiser’s Kash Cobb opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He ran for a team-high 77 yards on 20 carries, while quarterback Kolin Cook finished 7-for-16 for 70 yards.

Stats for Buhl were not reported.

DECLO 28, NAMPA CHRISTIAN 7

Gavin Rasmussen ran for 163 yards and a touchdown, and Bode Brackenbury ran for 119 yards and two scores as the No. 2-ranked Hornets (2-0) racked up 442 of their 525 total yards on the ground in a road win at Parma.

Pete Dice led Nampa Christian (0-1) by completing 16-of-31 passes for 153 yards, and Ian Johnson ran for 50 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown.

CANCELED GAMES

The following contests were canceled Friday due to poor air quality from nearby wildfires and will not be rescheduled.

• Ridgevue at Canyon Ridge

• Twin Falls at Vallivue

• Idaho City at Garden Valley

• Horseshoe Bend at Wilder