Area volleyball teams brought home five of the six state championship trophies last year, a record haul that begs the question: Can eastern Idaho repeat its dominance on the volleyball courts in 2020?

SHELLEY – In a game that looked on paper to be very one-sided in favor of Blackfoot, turned into a defensive struggle that saw a bit of everything.

ARCO – Looking back at the past three months, Butte County football coach Sam Thorngren admits he’s still torn about how the 2020 season has played out.

Conference titles, bragging rights, and playoff seedings were on the line Friday night. So were a couple of win streaks, which turned out to be good news for Rigby, but not so much for Sugar-Salem.

At Butte County, the Pirates dropped a 58-6 decision to Raft River.

The last time Skyline won a conference football title was 2017. The Grizzlies also went on to claim their second straight 4A state championship that season.

As his team feverishly whisked on beanies, jackets and sweatpants, Mark Muzzo did a lap around his team’s bench and met their somber faces with a message.

Weeks ago it looked like there may not even be a football postseason, but with just two weeks left in the regular-season schedule, the playoff picture is coming into focus.

POCATELLO — For the Highland girls soccer team in its district championship game against the Madison Bobcats, the best defense was a good offense.

BLACKFOOT – The Blackfoot boys’ soccer team used its strong defense and some timely scoring to defeat Hillcrest 3-1 on Wednesday to win the 4A District 6 title and secure a berth in the state tournament.

The four seniors on Sugar-Salem’s boys’ soccer team don’t know what it’s like to lose a district championship. The Diggers won their fourth straight title Wednesday, winning 1-0 over Teton in Driggs after falling 2-1 to Teton in their game with the Timberwolves last week.

In case you missed it, Thunder Ridge made an impressive debut on Monday Night Football, the east Idaho version.

Skyline and Sugar-Salem retained the top spots in the state media football poll 4A and 3A classifications while Rigby remained No. 2 in the 5A poll released Tuesday.

Football tradition dictates Fridays are for the preps, Saturdays are for the collegians, and Sundays and Mondays are for the pros.

At Blackfoot, the 4A District 6 boys soccer tournament got underway on Monday under cloudy skies and blustery winds that made play difficult for Blackfoot and Shelley.

Here are the results from Saturday's District 6 soccer tournaments

Loudspeakers blasted rock music and fans exchanged hugs as the clock ran out on Skyline’s 40-9 thumping of Idaho Falls Saturday evening. The Grizzlies, the happiest bunch in the city for the night, removed their pads and helmets for more comfortable clothes and dashed over to the east end zone.

You can’t get much closer than a 1-0 victory like the one the Madison girls soccer team had over Rigby Tuesday in their final regular season game. And yet, Madison and Rigby played an even closer game Saturday in their district tournament opener with the Bobcats coming out on top 1-0 in doub…

It was a light Friday night on the schedule with byes and COVID-19 cancelations whittling down the action, but that didn’t stop the Civil War between Hillcrest and Bonneville.

Rivalry games typically bring out the best in teams, each trying to ride the hype and adrenaline to glory and bragging rights.

At Sugar Salem, the Diggers remained undefeated with a 27-7 win over Teton Friday night.

At Thunder Ridge, the Bonneville girls soccer team downed Thunder Ridge 4-0 on Thursday.

The two biggest football rivalry games in Idaho Falls take place this weekend with the aptly named Civil War between Hillcrest and Bonneville, and the Emotion Bowl between Idaho Falls and Skyline headlining Week 7.

The Idaho Falls cross country teams swept Thursday’s Bob Conley Invitational in Pocatello.

At Hillcrest, Skyline took a 1-0 advantage into the half, but Johan Gaytan-Hernandez tied the game on an assist from Benson Bateman and Thomas Endsley netted the eventual 2-1 game winner for the Hillcrest boys soccer team on Wednesday..

After canceling its football game last week due to COVID-19, it looks like Butte County could play this week against Challis.

Skyline retained the No. 1 spot in the state media football poll, earning all 12 first-place votes in 4A. Blackfoot moved up to No. 2 with last week’s win over Hillcrest.

At Idaho Falls, the Idaho Falls girls soccer team defeated Skyline 3-0 on Monday night, earning the program's first win over the Grizzlies in 11 years.

Andy Trane doesn’t shy away from any of it. Bonneville’s new interim girls basketball coach acknowledges that the circumstances around his hiring are far from normal. Not only is he replacing a coach who led the Bees to an undefeated state title last season, but he also hasn’t coached at the…

Wake up in time to get to practice at 6:45 a.m., work up to a 15-hour day harvesting potatoes, and then go to sleep to get up and do it again. That’s the life of a high school athlete in Southeast Idaho for weeks during the potato harvesting season known to locals as spud harvest.

At Madison, the Bobcats' volleyball team recorded an 8-0 weekend en route to a Battle of the Best tournament championship.

“It’s just been a mess of a year,” Butte County football coach Sam Thorngren said Saturday, likely summing up what most coaches have felt over the first half of the 2020 season.

On those plays when yellow penalty flags weren't soiling the grass at Ravsten Stadium, the Idaho Falls and Rigby football teams both had reason for optimism on Friday night.

At Blackfoot, the Preston boys and girls cross country squads won the team titles at the Snake River Invitational meet.

BLACKFOOT — It wasn't pretty and it wasn't quite the high-scoring affair that many expected, but when the Blackfoot Broncos and Hillcrest Knights hooked up on Friday night, they gave the fans everything that they wanted — and then some.

RIRIE — For the Ririe Bulldogs, playing Firth this past decade has been a little bit like digging for obsidian up Kelly Canyon way.

At Madison, Skyline dispatched the Bobcats in a 46-15 win.

Halftime neared as Thunder Ridge’s impromptu quarterback, Kaysen Isom, called for the shotgun snap. He handed it to backfield mate Jaden Sautter, who identified a crease, burst through it and sprung into the open field, angling toward the right pylon.

Idaho Falls, Idaho Fall's Rylee Sessions scored the game-winning goal off a cross by Alexis Adams late in the second half as the Tigers girls soccer team downed Rigby 1-0 on Thursday.

It’s the halfway point of the high school football season and time to see what we’ve learned so far in 2020.

At Bonneville, Ali Ellsworth scored four goals and Alyssa Harris, Kylie Coles, Reagan Flynn each found the net as the Bonneville girls soccer team handled handled Blackfoot 7-0.

The Tiger-Grizz wrestling tournament is one of the top competitions in the state, so when the tournament hosted a girls division for the first time last year, it seemed it was only a matter of time before the dominoes started to fall.

Skyline in 4A and Sugar-Salem in 3A retained the top spots in the state media football poll released Tuesday.

The Idaho High School Activities Association is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to officially sanction girls wrestling.

At Thunder Ridge, the Thunder Ridge girls soccer team celebrated senior night with a 1-1 draw Monday against Rigby.

Bonneville High School Athletics officially announced Andy Trane as the interim head girls basketball coach.

The Thunder Ridge volleyball team posted a 10-1 record over the weekend, winning the Triple Threat Tournament with a victory over Eagle in the championship match on Saturday.

Few voices rang throughout an otherwise empty gym. The limited number of fans in attendance to watch Bonneville sweep Skyline Thursday night had exited some 30 minutes prior. One of the only people left was Bonneville coach Chantal McMurtrey, who took a seat at the end of a Skyline bleacher,…

There weren't a lot of surprises this week as 4A No. 1 Skyline took care of business with a 49-0 win over Bonneville, Rigby continued to roll with a conference-opening win over Thunder Ridge and the South Fremont offense put up 40 on Snake River.

BLACKFOOT – It was just the kind of game that the Blackfoot Broncos needed following a disheartening game a week ago when they suffered their first loss in the Jarrod Ackley era, 14-3 against Skyline.

At Madison, Highland mushroomed a two-point halftime advantage into a three-score lead in the fourth quarter, securing a 30-14 win over Madison.

The message echoed through Savannah Kenney’s head, even in this tense moment against Madison. All season, Thunder Ridge girls soccer coach Jason Lance had taught his team to be in the right position. Be ready for rebounds. Crowd the box when teammates attempt shots.

Ever heard the old adage that there is strength in numbers?

There were two clear takeaways from Friday's football game between Hillcrest and Shelley.