A total of 6 area football teams in Idaho playoffs

The Idaho High School Activities Association released its state football playoff pairings Sunday, and a total of six area teams made the field in the six classifications.

We already knew that based on Friday's win at Bengal Field, Lewiston (7-2) made the Class 5A field. It was known Saturday that the Bengals would take on Middleton (6-3), the third-place team out of the Foothills Division of the Southern Idaho Conference at 7 p.m. Friday at home. Lewiston, which is the No. 2 seed out of the North region, will begin selling tickets to the first-round game starting Monday. Middleton is the No. 11 overall seed.

Other area teams that made it into the tournament are Kamiah (8-1), Clearwater Valley (7-2) and Lapwai (5-3) in Class 1A Division I. Kendrick (9-0) and Lewis County (6-2) earned berths in Class 1A Division II.

One surprise was that Prairie (4-4), who finished fourth in the Whitepine League Division I standings, was left out of the field. Based on MaxPreps rankings, the Pirates were the 12th-best team out of the 23 in the state. But left Murtaugh (5-3), Butte County (5-2) and Lighthouse Christian (2-6) had higher rankings, so Prairie was left out.

In Class 1A DI, the Kubs received a bye in the play-in round and will wait until next weekend to find out who their opponent will be.

The Wildcats, the third-place team in the WPL DI standings, are the 11th seed and will play at sixth-seeded Butte County in Arco, Idaho. A time and date hasn't been determined yet.

The Pirates finished second in the High Desert Conference, averaging 51.4 points per game and allowing 26.3. Lapwai averaged 56.5 points and allows 33 points.

The Rams are the No. 7 seed and will go to Malta, Idaho, to play Raft River at noon Pacific on Saturday.

The Trojans finished third in the competitive Snake River conference. They're balanced on both sides of the ball, averaging 32 points and allowing 25.8.

Kendrick has a first-round bye in Class 1A DII and will host the winner of Watersprings-Camas County, who will play this weekend, on Nov. 4-5 in the quarterfinal round.

Lewis County opens with a game at 7 p.m. Friday at Highland of Craigmont against Garden Valley (7-1), the second-place team out of the Long Pin Conference.

“We’re really excited to be here,” Lewis County coach Monty Modrell said. “We’ve adopted the mentality about being the ‘ugly girl at the dance.' We don’t mind being that, as long as we’re at the dance.”

The Wolverines have been electric on offense, averaging 56.6 points per outing. They’ve also been stingy on defense, only allowing 13 points per game, with two shutouts.

“It’s going to be a banger,” Modrell said. “They’re a super physical bunch and we’re going to have to play hard in order to beat them.”

Volleyball

The pairings also were announced for this weekend's Idaho state volleyball tournaments.

Moscow is in the Class 4A event, Troy and Genesee will compete for the Class 1A Division I title, and Kendrick and Deary will go for the Class 1A Division II championship.

The Bears (12-9), the No. 6 seed, will take on third-seeded Columbia (14-3), who earned the second bid out of the District 3 tournament, at 10 a.m. Pacific on Friday at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls.

The winner takes on either Canyon Ridge or Columbia at 3 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site in a semifinal-round match. The loser faces either Canyon Ridge or Columbia at 1 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site to stay alive.

The Trojans and the Bulldogs are the top two seeds in the Class 1A DI event, which takes place at Madison High School in Rexburg, Idaho.

Top-seeded Troy (25-5) will take on Grace (8-9), the No. 8 seed who won a state play-in match in three sets against Victory Charter on Saturday, at 10 a.m. Pacific on Friday. The winner plays Oakley or Wallace at 3 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site. The loser plays Oakley or Wallace at 1 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site in an elimination match.

On the opposite side of the bracket, second-seeded Genesee (25-9) will play No. 7 seed Liberty Charter (14-5), the District 3 champion, at 8 a.m. Pacific on Friday. The winner advances to play Murtaugh or Rimrock at 3 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site. The loser will play Murtaugh or Rimrock at 1 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site to stay alive.

The Tigers and the Mustangs also are on the opposite sides of the Class 1A DII bracket. That tourney also takes place at Madison High School.

Seventh-seeded Deary (12-6) plays No. 2 seed Rockland (26-1), the champion out of District 5-6, at 8 a.m. Pacific on Friday. The winner advances to play Council or Richfield at 3 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site. The loser plays at 1 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site to keep their season alive.

Kendrick (16-4), the No. 5 seed, takes on fourth-seeded Mackay (21-5), the second team out of District 5-6, at 8 a.m. Pacific on Friday. The winner will play either Horseshoe Bend or Clark Fork at 3 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site. The loser plays Horseshoe Bend or Clark Fork at 1 p.m. Pacific the same day at the same site in an elimination match.