Krobinett@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - From the opening kickoff, when Pocatello's Ben Dahl needlesslycharged forward to hit Taysom Hill in the open field rather than drop back and help set up a return, it was obvious that the Indians felt they needed to rattle Highland's quarterback in order to win the Black and Blue Bowl.

But no matter what Poky tried - from going after him on all but the final kickoff of the game to adding an extra nudge on plays that long had been blown dead - Hill stood up to the challenge. In many ways, he fed off it.

The Stanford-bound senior not once lost his composure against the Rams' cross-town rival and did everything in Highland's 26-13 win on Friday at Holt Arena.

He connected with five different receivers for 148 passing yards, he broke through too many tackles to count and rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns, he recovered a fumble and he kicked two field goals. By game's end, he was responsible for 20 of Highland's points.

No wonder he broke out of his usual business-like approach to the game and celebrated more than anyone as he walked off the field.

"This is such a great feeling," he said. "The Black and Blue Bowl is such a big game that it's fun to play in whether you win or lose. But we won, so it makes the experience even greater."

But back to the extra contact on those kickoffs. Did he feel Poky was taking a cheap shot?

"For sure, man," Hill said. "But it is what it is. The Pocatello/Highland game is as big as it gets around here, and if they want to do that, I guess they can. The thing I don't like is that it takes a lot of fun out of the game."

When asked for an explanation of the kickoffs, Poky coach Tom Harrison said it wasn't meant as a dirty play. He was just trying to make it a little harder for Hill to boom the ball through the end zone for a touchback.

"It was such a little part of the game," he said. "Taysom is such an amazing athlete, and he's out there on almost every play, we wanted to do something to wear him down a little bit or distract him. That's all."

Highland football coach Gino Mariani said he didn't accept that explanation.

"We hadn't seen that on film all year, and it was an obvious attempt to get extra hits on Taysom," he said. "Whatever, if that's the tone they want to take, then so be it. You hate to see that stuff, though. You don't want a game like this to come down to cheap shots."

While the bizarre Poky strategy will create debate whether coaches and players want it to or not, there were many other aspects of the 2008 Black and Blue Bowl.

Highland won its third straight game in the series behind the outstanding play of Hill, a tremendous night from running back Jerry Castillo, who rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown, the improved play of the Rams' receiving corps and a stout defensive effort.

Jace Hansen led Highland in receptions with three for 50 yards, but Hill had options all night long.

"Our receiving core is getting so much better," Hill said. "They really showed up to play today and came up with big plays every time they had to."

The majority of the plays came after Poky took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a four-yard run from lineman Robbie Carr.

The Rams then responded with 26 unanswered points to take control of the game before Michael Decker ran in a hook-and-lateral in the game's final moments to give the Indians another score.

Highland's defense made many special plays to hold Poky down for so long. The Rams forced three turnovers and stopped Poky on two fourth-down attempts.

Payton Nash, who grabbed an interception in there, said it was the unit's best outing of the season.

"We came together really well," he said. "We had a lot of great stops and did our jobs well."

With the win, Highland improved to 5-2 and now plays two home game to close out district play. Pocatello dropped to 6-1 and next plays Century for the 4A Fifth District title.

In the end, Hill said the way his teammates rallied around him and helped defend him on kickoff plays was what fired the Rams up enough to win by a considerable margin.

"That was a key part of the game for me," he said. "They've got my back, and it shows how much they care about me to defend and help me like that. I hope they know I'd do the same for every one of them. I've got their backs, too. We practice together and have been through a lot together. We're a family, and we look out for each at all times."

The Indians likely realize that more than anyone.

Highland 26, Pocatello 13

Pocatello 0 7 0 6 - 13

Highland 0 16 0 10 - 26

Scoring Summary

P - Robbie Carr 4 run (kick good)

H - Taysom Hill 42 field goal

H - Taysom Hill 8 run (kick failed)

H - Taysom Hill 1 run (kick good)

H - Taysom Hill 24 field goal

H - Jerry Castillo 1 run (kick good)

P - Michael Decker 41 run (kick failed)

Rushing: Pocatello - Zack McCain 12-99, Wes Howard 10-43, Hayden Green 9-23, Greg Cleary 3-18, Ed Katsilometes 3-15, Michael Decker 1-9, Robbie Carr 1-4. Highland - Jerry Castillo 15-144, Taysom Hill 14-61, Chad Pitcher 2-7.

Passing: Pocatello - Hayden Green 6-9-93-0-1, Michael Decker 0-1-0-0-1. Highland - Taysom Hill 14-23-148-0-1.

Receiving: Pocatello - Michael Decker 3-61, Colter Morton 2-27, Zack McCain 1-5. Highland - Jace Hansen 3-50, Joe Rasmussen 4-37, Buck Buchanan 3-28, Jerry Castillo 3-26, Chad Pitcher 1-7.