BLACKFOOT — With a state playoff berth safely tucked away, the Blackfoot Broncos took on Bingham County foe Shelley on Friday night in a tune-up for the next step in their prep football road.

The No. 2-ranked Broncos didn’t disappoint, clobbering the Russets 33-16 on Blackfoot’s senior night and regular-season finale.

The win gives Blackfoot an 8-1 record and a seven-game win streak entering state action. Shelley stayed winless to end its year at 0-8.

One thing the Broncos needed to show in the regular-season finale was continued momentum, especially in the running game, and they showed all of that between strong running from junior fullback Dragen Robinson and sophomore Bowen Robinson. They were also efficient through the air.

Defensively, Blackfoot gave up the occasional big play through the air and allowed the Russets to pound away at them in the fourth quarter, but not before they had already sealed the deal.

Shelley got off to a rough start in the first quarter, turning the ball over after taking the opening kick and Dragen Robinson showed good burst with power on the ground, putting the Broncos on top with 9:12 on the clock, bulling his way in from 5 yards out up the middle with Dominique Sanchez’s kick making it 7-0.

Six minutes later, Blackfoot extended its lead through the air when quarterback Craig Young hit Brayden Wright just inside the left corner of the end zone from 19 yards out on a nice over-the-shoulder catch by Wright.

In the second quarter, a pass interference call against Shelley near the end zone set up a scoring run by Reece Robinson and Blackfoot was up 20-0 with 10:39 left in the first half after the extra point kick went wide left.

Shelley struck quickly after that, getting on the board with 10:24 on the clock when quarterback Treyce Jensen hit Kyle DeRoche on a 65-yard touchdown pass with DeRoche’s speed carrying him most of the way. Jensen punched it in on the 2-point conversion to make it 20-8.

Blackfoot extended its lead again with 38 seconds left in the half when Young found Kameron Lawes on a 4-yard floater in the end zone with the Sanchez kick making it 27-8.

The wind and the chill seemed to pick up even more after the half, and the third quarter zipped by with Bowen Robinson giving the Broncos’ offense some momentum on the ground, capping a long drive with a 3-yard burst up the middle to make it 33-8 just barely into the fourth quarter.

Jensen ended the scoring at the 4:13 mark, sneaking it in from less than a yard away for Shelley.

Up next

Blackfoot hosts Sandpoint in the first round of the playoffs.