Snake River hasn't had much luck against Sugar-Salem recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Panthers will take on the Diggers at 8:15 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Snake River sitting on three straight victories and Sugar-Salem on four.
Snake River is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They came out on top against Gooding by a score of 34-21. The Panthers' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Snake River can attribute much of their success to Preston Wheatley, who rushed for 60 yards and one score, and Clancy Howell, who rushed for 27 yards and one touchdown. That rushing touchdown marked the first that Howell has punched in this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sugar-Salem). They simply couldn't be stopped two weeks ago as they easily beat Teton 54-8. The result was nothing new for the Diggers, who have now won six contests by 21 points or more so far this season.
Snake River better keep an eye on Kimball Tonks. He was instrumental in Sugar-Salem's win, rushing for 110 yards and a pair of TDs. What's more, Tonks posted two rushing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in September of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Frank Fillmore, who rushed for 16 yards and one score.
Sugar-Salem didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Teton to a completion percentage of just 23.1%. The team can thank Latrell Markle for the heroic effort on defense: he. Sugar-Salem wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 63.6%.
Sugar-Salem's defense didn't let Luke Nelson, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. Kaden Nate refused to say out of the backfield, picking up 1.5 sacks all by himself.
Snake River's record is now 6-4. As for Sugar-Salem, their record now sits at 7-1.
Snake River was taken down by Sugar-Salem 37-7 in their previous meeting back in August. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Fillmore, who threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 passes, and also rushed for 48 yards and one TD. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
