Football Game Preview: North Gem Cowboys vs. Challis Vikings

The North Gem Cowboys will face off against the Challis Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

North Gem is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past Mackay to the tune of 52-14 on Friday. The Cowboys haven't had any issues with the Miners recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.

Craig Yost

Rushing Touchdowns

08/29/25 vs Camas County	6
10/03/25 vs Mackay	2
08/22/25 vs Utah Military Academy - Hill Field	2
09/19/25 @ Garden Valley	1

This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Craig Yost and Clay Johnson. Yost rushed for 177 yards and a pair of scores on only 15 carries while Johnson rushed for 95 yards and three TDs on only 12 carries. Yost also punched in two rushing touchdowns, which is notable because North Gem is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise.

North Gem was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 333 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Challis humbled Watersprings with a 60-12 victory.

Challis found their leader in freshman Owen Thayn, who threw for 171 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 passes, and also rushed for 80 yards and one score on only ten carries.

Challis didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Teage Erickson.

Challis' victory bumped their record up to 3-4. As for North Gem, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.

North Gem couldn't quite finish off Challis when the teams last played back in September of 2024 and fell 40-38. Thankfully for the Cowboys, Jacen Farr (who threw for 353 yards and three TDs while completing 76% of his passes, and also rushed for 102 yards and one touchdown on only 11 carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.