West Side, Butte County wrap up Idaho high school state football championships
POCATELLO, Idaho - Dynasty renewed.
A year after seeing its attempt at pulling off just the third-ever four-peat in Idaho history come to a heartbreaking end, West Side wasn't going to be denied this time around.
It returned to the scene of the crime at Holt Arena for a 41-13 win over Declo on Friday night in the Class 2A state championship game.
The Pirates (9-2) are the first 2A team - and just the sixth overall - to win four titles in five years.
"We worked so hard for this. I don't even know how to describe it," said Lincoln Henderson, who tallied 162 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns. "Every day preparing since we lost last year to Bear Lake, it just feels so good to finally accomplish it."
Bear Lake not only ended their reign last season, but snapped the 35-game winning streak - the longest in the state at the time - in the regular season.
West Side lost both games by the exact same score of 28-27. The only difference was last year's state semifinal loss came in overtime.
"They were extremely motivated," West Side coach Tyson Moser said. "A lot of teams might have quit or not played well at that point, but these seniors refused to let us do that. They just put us on their shoulders."
The title game was a rematch of another regular season encounter that didn't go its way.
The Hornets (11-1) handed the Pirates their first home loss in nearly six years. They overcame a 20-point deficit in the 27-26 win Oct. 6.
"It was discouraging," Moser said. "We weren't playing good at that point. We hadn't played good the week before. We didn't play real well the week after. So there was a point in the season where things just didn't look very good."
But that was far from the case Friday.
West Side never trailed.
It led 14-7 at the break before pulling away in the second half thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Moser's son, Parker.
The senior tailback broke free for a 56-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. His 2-yard scamper on a fourth-and-2 pushed the lead to 27-7 with just seven minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the game.
Moser finished with a game-high 104 yards on 18 carries.
However, the defense was one that really came out to play.
It didn't allow Declo to cross 200 yards of total offense until there was a little more than four minutes to go. The defense also came away with five takeaways. Two of those were interceptions by Crew Sage, who missed the first game against the Hornets with a leg injury.
Trayce Stone put a cap on the night with his 51-yard pick-6 with 1:26 remaining.
Declo came into the game averaging 40 points per game.
"They stepped up so much," Parker Moser said about his defense. "It's amazing."
Hornet wideout Gavin Rasmussen tallied four receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown - a 24-yard strike from William Garrard with under three minutes remining in the first half after trailing 14-0.
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BUTTE COUNTY ENDS OAKLEY'S REIGN FOR FIRST TITLE
Butte County watched helplessly three years ago as Oakley began a dynasty at its own expense.
So it was only fitting that the Pirates were the ones to finally end it Friday night. They denied the Hornets’ four-peat bid with a 58-44 win in the Class 1A (D1) final for the first state championship in program history.
“If we were going to win it, I’ve said all along it has to be them and it has to be us,” Butte County head coach Sam Thorngren said. “And that’s respect to them. Three titles in a row and making another one, the odds of doing that are just incredible. They’ve had a great program for a while and that's what we aspire to build our program to.”
Butte County (9-1) lost 80-12 and 52-22 in the 2020 state quarterfinals and 2021 semifinals, respectively.
Brody Westergard was on both those teams.
“We were getting slaughtered by these guys,” the senior wide receiver said with a laugh.
So he personally made sure that it wasn’t going to happen again. The 6-2, 165-pounder racked up 267 yards of total offense, including 140 rushing, and five touchdowns. Two came on the ground, two receiving and the other on a defensive score that completely turned the tide of the game.
Oakley (8-2) had the ball fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with four seconds remaining in the second quarter. It attempted to pull off the statue of liberty play, but the Pirates were not fooled by the trick play.
Rawson Twitchell forced Bry Severe to cough up the football after hitting him nine yards into the backfield. Westergard then picked it up and ran 90 yards untouched for the scoop-and-score on the final play of the half.
It was only the third time all season the Hornets had trailed at the break.
“Goal line stands are always great,” Thorngren said. “But that was the biggest play of the game for sure.”
Butte County led by as much as 20 points in the second half. But there’s a reason why the Hornets are the only Class 1A eight-man team ever to win three consecutive state titles.
An Isaac Cranney interception led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Robinson to Bridger Duncan late in the third quarter. Severe then met Pirates’ quarterback Keaton Archibald at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs at their own 10-yard line.
It all gave Oakley a chance to either tie or take the lead down 42-36 with 7:47 remaining.
However, it did nothing with the drive.
The Hornets ended up turning the ball over on downs themselves after going for it on their own 18. Two plays later, Westergard was in for his fifth and final touchdown on a 13-yard run with 6:41 left.
Oakley never threatened again and was done it after committing its fourth turnover on a pick by Rafe Mcaffee a little more than a minute later.
The title was made all the more special with teammate Dillon Waymire in attendance.
The senior lineman collapsed on the field during a game against Kendrick on Sept. 29. It was due to a brain bleed that suddenly came about from the aftermath of being in a car accident before the season.
But he rose from his wheelchair and was the first player to hoist the trophy.
“None of us knew he was coming,” Westergard said. “We’re all warming up and we see him roll in on this turf. We looked over and we’re all in shock. That really fueled us up to play and come out tonight and not let him down. We’re doing it for him.”
Robinson threw for 438 yards and five touchdowns for the Hornets in the loss. He did it while dealing with a separated shoulder suffered last week.
