Weiser to host American Falls in State quarterfinal match

The Wolverines kick off their state championship run against American Falls at Roy Dickerson Memorial Field Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.

 American Falls (6-4) beat Moscow (7-3) 24-16 on the road Friday, Nov. 1 in a play-in round matchup of the 4A state playoffs. The win qualified the Beavers for the quarterfinal game against Weiser, which had a first-round bye last week.

 The east Idaho team, a member of the 4A Great Basin Conference, features key players like senior defensive back Austin Adair who batted away multiple passes, contributed 106 receiving yards and scored a touchdown in Friday’s game.

 Junior running back Zakary Grigg rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Adair averages almost 38 yards receiving per game and Grigg averages about 115 yards on the ground, with 1,155 yards on 209 carries and 14 touchdowns on the season, according to MaxPreps.com.

 The Beavers appear to have a strong crew of linebackers, with middle backer Ty Smith averaging 12.5 tackles per game followed by Adair with 8.5 from his outside backer position. He has also contributed 4 sacks on the year so far. The other outside backer, Micael Torres, averages 6.5 tackles per game.

 The Wolverines spent their off week sharpening up their schemes and skills.

 “We need to get better in our passing game in some areas,” Tom Harrison said following Weiser’s 70-13 victory over Payette at home Oct. 25. “There are always improvements we can make, including on special teams. We are going to try to get that done this week. We are going to work on the details, get down to the small things that can make us better. There are always things we can work on and we have the right coaches to help get it down.”

 American Falls will have to get past a Weiser defense that has allowed only 157 points on the season, the offense scoring 357 on the year, according to MaxPreps.com.

 Linebackers Kash Cobb and Luke Sarich average 7.6 and 7.3 tackles per game, respectively. Quarterback and strong safety Kolin Cook averages 5 tackles per game. Linebacker Ty Cobb has recorded 4 sacks on the year followed by defensive lineman Dylann Ashley and Sarich with 2 apiece.

 Kash Cobb leads all rushers with 1,507 yards on 208 carries, with a 7.2-yard per carry average and 21 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps.com. Cole Ingle has generated 514 yards on the ground and 5 touchdowns followed by Weston Black, with 333 yards and three touchdowns.

 Harrison said he doesn’t pay attention to stats and  his team prides itself on staying humble.

 “Hopefully they can stay humble and understand that we can be beaten by anybody,” Harrison said. “We have to guard against being vain or being something we don’t want to be. We want to be humble and confident in our abilities while having faith in our coaches and faith in each other. That can carry us a long way.”

 Snake River Valley conference rival Homedale, which also had a bye this week, will face Buhl Friday at home. Buhl beat Weiser 9-6 in the season opener and has since amassed a 7-2 overall record and a 4-1 record in the 4A Great Basin Conference.

 Fruitland (8-2, 3-2), another SRV rival, beat Teton 47-13 Friday to earn a quarterfinal spot against Kimberly (6-3, 4-0).

 If Fruitland beats Kimberly in their quarterfinal game Friday, the Grizzlies would face off against either No. 1 Sugar-Salem or Snake River.

 A Weiser win against American Falls would result in a semi-final matchup against the winner of the Homedale-Buhl game.