A highly anticipated rematch will determine which Fifth District rival is only one victory away from their primary goal.

Arguably the top two high school football teams in Idaho’s 2A classification will square off in the first of two semifinal games Saturday at Holt Arena. West Side, which is seeking an unprecedented fourth straight state championship, will square off against District 5 champion Bear Lake at 1:30 p.m.

Both teams should have some extra motivation for Saturday’s showdown, inasmuch as Bear Lake terminated West Side’s 35-game winning streak earlier this season in an overtime thriller, while the Pirates crushed the Bears in this round of the playoffs by a 47-8 scoreline a year ago. West Side’s epic winning streak came to an end thanks to a gutsy, well-executed two-point conversion pass from Bear Lake’s Tayson Neal to Tyler Beresford in OT on Sept. 23 in Montpelier.

“I think we’re pretty hungry,” West Side head coach Tyson Moser said. “I think that was our downfall (last week) against Declo is as much as we tried to get ready for Declo, I know these kids kept thinking about Bear Lake and they wanted to play Bear Lake. And they actually wanted to play at Bear Lake, a lot of them. They didn’t care what the weather was. They wanted to go back to Bear Lake and play in (Montpelier). It’s always a good thing when you’re kids want to play and they’re highly motivated to play who they’re playing.”

West Side rolled to a 31-10 triumph over Declo in last Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup, but not before spotting the Hornets a 10-0 lead. Declo returned the opening kickoff of the game 98 yards to the house. To their credit, the Pirates bounced back from their two-possession deficit in an impressive manner.

The last time the Pirates (9-1) had to dig their way out of a double-digit hole was actually against the Bears, who took a 20-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. West Side outscored Bear Lake (8-1) 13-0 in the second half and had a couple of chances to prevail in regulation. The Pirates had an extra point blocked in the fourth quarter, plus were ruled short of the first-down marker by a fraction of an inch on a fourth-and-1 run inside the Bear Lake 30-yard line a few minutes later.

Indeed, that was a frustrating loss for West Side — its first setback against a district opponent since 2017 — but it might have been just what the doctored ordered for the three-time reigning 2A state champs.

“Really, I think we just needed to lose a game,” said Moser, whose team outgained Bear Lake by a 325-246 margin. “I don’t know that we learned any big lessons. We needed to lose. The kids were not having any fun at that point. All they thought about was the winning streak and as much as you try and get that out of their heads, it’s impossible because everyone’s talking about it. I just think we weren’t having any fun.

“We were playing games tight, we weren’t playing loose (and) we were playing scared to lose, instead of playing to win. And so I think losing that game erased all of that (pressure) for us, and we got back to playing fun, playing aggressive, playing to win, not worried about losing.”

Since their loss to the Bears, the Pirates have rattled off six consecutive wins and all by at least 14 points. West Side has come on strong offensively as it has poured in 52 or more points in four of those six victories.

“I think we’re run blocking a lot better than we were earlier in the year,” Moser said. “Our pass protection’s better than it was earlier in the year. Our younger players have come a long ways. Like Crew Sage, he wasn’t much of an offensive factor early in the year, but I think these last four, five games he’s really come a long ways as an offensive weapon. I just think overall we’ve improved a lot. … We’re healthy. We have Owen Nielsen back, which helps us.”

Nielsen, a returning starter at outside linebacker, broke his collarbone early in the season and didn’t return until the team’s regular-season finale. The senior came through with a pick-six in last year’s 33-13 triumph over Firth in the 2A state title tilt.

Nielsen is one of a handful of key cogs on West Side’s always stingy defense, which continues to excel under the direction of long-time defensive coordinator Tyler Brown. The Pirates have shut out two opponents this season and have limited five others to 10 or fewer points. West Side has only allowed 10 points and 188.6 yards of total offense an outing this season. Conversely, the Pirates have averaged 35.4 points and 359.6 yards of total offense per game this fall.

Jackson Beckstead currently paces the Pirates with 79 tackles on the season, followed by Easton Shurtliff with 61. Beckstead and Shurtliff have each contributed with 2.0 sacks apiece.

Shurtliff is also the Pirates’ second-leading rusher as he has racked up 766 yards on 125 carries. West Side’s leading rusher and receiver is Parker Moser, who has gained 1,066 yards on 145 rushing attempts, plus has hauled in 31 receptions for 383 yards. The junior has accounted for an impressive 21 touchdowns, followed by Crew Sage with 10 and Shurtliff with nine.

West Side quarterback Eli Brown has been quite efficient as he has completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 831 yards and eight TDs, vs. four interceptions. Three of those INTs were tossed against Bear Lake — one of which was returned to the house.

Bear Lake signal caller Tayson Neal was the star of the first showdown between the two rivals as he threw a pair of TD passes, rushed for another and picked off a pair of passes on defense, including the aforementioned pick-six. The senior has completed 60.4 percent of his passes this season for 1,465 yards and 20 TDs, vs. just three INTs. Neal has rushed for an additional 208 yards and two scores.

Beresford and Bryson Crane are Bear Lake’s other big weapons on offense. Beresford leads the Bears in rushing yards (627), rushing TDs (eight) and receiving yards (399), while the 6-foot-3 Crane ranks first on the team in receptions (31) and receiving TDs (six).

“He’s a great athlete,” coach Moser said of Crane.

The Bears have averaged 33.2 points and 313 yards — 151.1 on the ground and 162.8 through the air — an outing this season. Coach Moser raved about Bear Lake’s big-play potential on offense, particularly through the air, but stopping the run will be his primary focus.

“Well, it’s really the same against every opponent we play and it was the same keys to the Declo game — we have to be able to run the ball and we have to be able to stop the run,” coach Moser said when asked about the keys to success against Bear Lake. “That’s 2A football. And Bear Lake is a pretty balanced team and they do throw the ball very well, and you might say that is their scariest part of their offense is their passing game. But 2A football always comes down to stopping the run first. … If you can stop the run and force them into passing situations, then you know what’s coming, but if they’re able to run the ball at will, then they can stay balanced and keep you on your toes all game long.”

Like the Pirates, the Bears have sparkled defensively this season as they have shut out three opponents and have only allowed 11.0 points per game. Joe Garbett paces the Bears with 58 tackles, followed by Walker Pelto with 40. Bear Lake has intercepted 12 passes — three apiece from Neal and Rhett Lloyd.

“It’s going to be difficult for both offenses,” Moser said of the teams’ familiarity with each other. “I would predict it’s going to be a defensive battle.”

Other playoff games this weekend (all on Saturday)

2A

Aberdeen vs. Firth, 6:30 p.m. at Holt Arena

1AD1

Grace vs. Kamiah, 11 a.m. at Holt Arena