Highland shuts out Thunder Ridge 38-0, shakes up High Country Conference playoff picture

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Highland dominated Thunder Ridge Friday night, shutting out the Titans 38-0 and ending their hopes of earning an automatic bid to the 6A state playoffs.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead after Easton Almond scored the game's first touchdown. Thunder Ridge turnovers helped Highland extend its advantage, with Cedric Mitchell and Kellen Tingey adding touchdowns in the first half.

The loss came just one week after Thunder Ridge's dramatic 21-20 victory over Madison, which had kept the Titans in contention for the conference title.

Meanwhile, Rigby's blowout victory over Madison secured the Trojans the High Country Conference championship.

With Highland's 32-point victory, Madison claims the conference's second automatic playoff bid through the tiebreaker.

Highland moves ahead of Thunder Ridge in the conference standings. While both teams will now have to rely on their MaxPreps rankings for an at-large playoff berth, heading into this week Highland was listed at #6, and Thunder Ridge was ranked as #11.

More bad news for Thunder though nothing is official at the time of this article, but #12 Kuna,#13 Capital, and #14 Lake City all had wins tonight.