BOISE — Great teams take advantage of golden opportunities.
Eagle found one on Friday, which led to a 35-22 victory over Borah at Dona Larsen Park and a shot at the 6A Southern Idaho Conference River Division title.
With a few minutes remaining in the first half, Eagle lined up to attempt a 54-yard field goal. The kick from Lucas Boockholdt was short, but a flag on Borah for a personal foul for roughing the long snapper extended the drive.
With six seconds remaining in the half, quarterback Austin Ramsey hit Dallin Snooks in the back corner of the end zone for a 6-yard TD. Eagle led 7-3 at the half.
Two more touchdowns by the Mustangs inside the first minute of the second half put them up 21-3. The drastic change in score in a short period of time paved the way for Eagle to defeat Borah.
Not only did the win book Eagle’s place in the Southern Idaho Conference championship game next week for the third straight year, the Mustangs clinched a first-round bye in the state playoffs.
Had their touchdown drive in the first half not been extended by a penalty, it could’ve been a different story.
“A lot of games are won in that middle chunk of the game,” Eagle head coach James Cluphf said. We had one last week where we had a great drive right before the half and it really turned the momentum around. You saw it again tonight where we finished the half the right way.”
To begin the second half, Aaron Zrno returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown. On Borah’s first offensive snap of the second half, Connor LeBeau picked off Dylan Luekenga and returned it to the 5-yard line.
Two plays later, Noah Burnham punched it in from 2 yards out.
Just like that, the game flipped on its head.
“Good teams, they take advantage of opportunities that teams give us,” Zrno said. “We’re a great team and we’re going to take advantage of those.”
After a sluggish first half in which Ramsey threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone into double coverage, Eagle got a jolt of energy in just over a minute of game time. The Mustangs added another score later in the third quarter as Ramsey hit Burnham on a short pass, who turned on the jets for a 39-yard touchdown. Eagle scored 28 unanswered points to take a 28-3 lead.
“We have a lot of star power,” Cluphf said. “We have a lot of guys that can take it to the end zone at any point. It helps when you have a trigger guy like Austin there. I think he’s the best quarterback in the state. Anytime you have a guy like that, you have to score quick.”
Ramsey bounced back from the two first half interceptions to finish with three touchdown passes, including a 57-yarder to Jake Benson in the fourth quarter.
“I personally didn’t have the greatest first half,” Ramsey said. “I flushed it out the window, my team had my back and I had my team’s back. We went out there and balled. Stuck together, we’re right behind each other all the way to the end.”
Since taking a beating to West Linn (Ore.) in early September, the Mustangs have won six straight, booking a spot in what is shaping up to be the biggest game of the year so far in 6A. Next week, the Mustangs visit Rocky Mountain in the SIC title game. A 1 vs. 2 matchup for all the marbles in the conference.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Ramsey said. “All the talk, all the hype, all that. It was the first time we’re not playing them in the regular season in I don’t know how long. Great caliber team, we’re a great caliber team, I think it’s going to be a dog fight.”
In a rare year in which the two schools didn’t face each other in the regular season, it’s only fitting they meet with hardware on the line.
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