BANCROFT — Grace quarterback Josh Jensen had already run the ball in for two touchdowns and handed it off to three different running backs for a collective five addition touchdowns by the time there was just six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

    It only seemed fitting that on the team’s last score of it’s lopsided 50-0 victory over rival North Gem on Friday, that Jensen, after several attempts at a touchdown pass during the game, would hit Kade Campbell for a 14-yarder that invoked the mercy rule, ending the game with 5:58 left on the clock.

    “It was a team effort,” said Grace Coach Steven Milward. “We have a bunch of returning guys who were part of that loss last year. I didn’t have to say anything to these guys. They were focused from the start.”

    It’s Grace’s second year in 1A Division 1, playing eight-man football. During the Grizzlies’ game with nearby North Gem a year ago, victory was within their grasp when a Cowboy’s punt returner took one all the way, giving his team the victory.

    Grace left little room for a comeback Friday afternoon, taking a 32-0 lead into the locker room at halftime and fully dominating the Cowboys from the start.

    North Gem managed just 57 yards of total offense, and only four first downs.

    “Our biggest problem: Our offensive line,” said North Gem Coach Cody Hansen. “We didn’t dominate the line like we had to. Our guys worked hard, but it’s our first game and it showed.

    “We played tentative early on. We settled down in the second half, but let’s face it, when you’re down 32 points that’s a big hill to climb.”

    North Gem did settle down during the third quarter, allowing Grace just one touchdown and even forcing the Grizzlies to punt for the first time in the game midway through the quarter.

    But two huge turnovers would doom the effort.

    With the Cowboys driving in late in the third quarter, putting together what was easily their best offensive series of the game, Josh Jensen threw an errant pass that was picked off by Grace’s Nels Jensen.

    The Grizzlies got the ball at mid-field and eventually took it into the end zone early in the fourth quarter. If they had completed the two-point conversion attempt, the game would have ended with roughly 11 minutes left in the fourth.

    If Grace fell short any where, it was in it’s two-point conversion attempts. They missed all but one attempt. Had they made all their two-point attempts, the game would have ended with their sixth touchdown, which came halfway through the third quarter.

    High school football rules in Idaho allow for no more than a 44-point lead. Once a lead reaches 45 points or more, the game is ended. The rule is often referred to as a mercy rule.

    It was the second straight week that Grace (2-0) dismantled their opponent. The Grizzlies beat Clark County 50-0 last week. Next week, the team hosts Mackay.

    North Gem (0-1) hopes to bounce back next week when they host Raft River.