2026 Emotion Bowl: An unforgettable night for the Idaho Falls Tigers
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The Emotion Bowl, the long-standing rivalry between the Idaho Falls Tigers and the Skyline Grizzlies, started back in 1966 when Skyline split off from Idaho Falls High School. Since then, the two teams have met on the football field every year. The winner paints the goalposts their school color, and this time, the powder blue will be painted over with orange, as the Idaho Falls Tigers win 28-21 on Saturday night.
The game started, as all football games do, with a coin toss. Doug Latham was the honorary captain for tonight's Emotion Bowl. Doug started as an assistant coach for Idaho Falls High in the mid-sixties, and then followed Vernon Ravsten to Skyline once the split from I.F. took place. He also spent 40 years at Skyline as an educator.
It took a full quarter for our first score of the game. As the clock hit 0 on that first quarter, Idaho Falls QB Will Thompson handed the ball to Jonny Sereno, and Sereno fought his way into the end zone to give I.F. a 7-0 lead. Skyline scored their first points in an unconventional way.
A few minutes into the second quarter, the Grizzlies were forced to punt. The kick landed short of the returner and began bouncing toward the end zone. The returner followed the ball to the 6-yard line, and tried to pick it up, but was hit and lost possession. That's when Skyline Sophomore Jaden Tuioti-Mariner dove on the ball as it was crossing the goal line, scoring the first Grizzly touchdown of the game and tying things up at 7 a side.
In the final minute of the second quarter, Idaho Falls retook the lead. From just inside the 10-yard line, QB Will Thompson received the snap and floated a ball to the back-left pylon. Hudson Palmer hauled it in, giving Idaho Falls a 14-7 lead, which they would take into the half.
With about a minute to go in the third quarter, the Tigers expanded their lead. Will Thompson took a designed QB run toward the Idaho Falls side of the field and scored to make it 21-7. With 7 minutes to go in the fourth, the Tigers took their largest lead of the night. From just about 15 yards away from the end zone, Thompson took another designed quarterback run to the house, securing his second rushing touchdown and third total touchdown of the night. Things looked bleak for the Grizz with 7 minutes left trailing by 3 scores, but their offense came alive late.
Just about a minute after Thompson's touchdown, Skyline finally got to the end zone. Quarterback John Giannini found Dax Clinger for 6 after on a play-action pass, cutting the lead to 14. The Tiger offense went 3-and-out, and punted away to Skyline. Moments later, Giannini found Sam DeMott for a big gain to set up the offense inside the 5-yard line. On the very next play, Giannini ran the ball in himself, evaporating the 21-point Idaho Falls lead, and making it a 1 score game in just under 4 minutes of game time. Then things got crazier.
After Giannini's touchdown, Skyline attempted an onside kick. They recovered it. The Grizz now made a seemingly impossible comeback possible, as they now trailed by 7 with all 3 timeouts and just over three minutes to go in the game. They ended up going 4-and-out, turning the ball over to the Tigers on downs with 2:30 to go.
After using the last of their timeouts and making a stop, Skyline forced an Idaho Falls punt. The Grizzlies were getting the ball back with just under 30 seconds to go and no timeouts. In two plays, Skyline was able to advance the ball over the 50-yard line. Finally, with 11 seconds left, they decided to go for the end zone. Giannini received the snap, took his drop back, and heaved a ball deep to the back of the end zone. That's when senior Tiger Daniel Hillam caught the game-sealing interception. The Tigers needed to take 1 more knee to end the game, and when they did, the Idaho Falls side of the field exploded with cheers and screams.
Immediately after the game, I found 1st year Tiger head coach Dustin Medellin in the chaos to get his reaction.
"I'm so grateful for our players and how hard they worked," Medellin said. "They deserve this. That's why we came [to IFHS], it was to help these players have a good football experience. They put in the work, and it's so awesome to see them have the chance to do this."
I then asked Medellin how he thought his Tiger team performed in this huge win. "I love it," he said. "That's what we're trying to coach - grit, get over hurdles, overcome adversity, which we had a lot of, but just keep fighting till the whistle, and they did it."
The Tigers are now at 3-3 on the year, and after tonight's festivities, they will set their sights on Friday, October 9th. Medellin and IFHS will be taking on Hillcrest, which is where Medellin most recently coached as a defensive coordinator.
