Homedale captures fifth consecutive 3A Snake River Valley title with win over Fruitland

HOMEDALE, Idaho - “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

The old mantra rang true for the Homedale High School football team Friday night. It posed in front of the scoreboard and everyone held up five fingers. The photograph, which will undoubtedly hang in the football facility for years to come, signifies just how dominant the second-ranked Trojans have been for a half a decade now.

A 42-14 win over rival Fruitland gave them their fifth consecutive Class 3A Snake River Valley Conference championship. It also extended their Snake River Valley winning streak to 24 games in a row. They haven’t lost to a conference opponent in more than five years.

It’s a feat that not even head coach Matt Holtry envisioned upon taking over the program in 2009.

“You’re talking about Weiser and Fruitland, which both have an unbelievable traditions of success. So realistically, you’re thinking you can get a championship here and there. But to get five in a row, I’d be lying if I said I saw that happening,” Holtry said. “But every year, these coaches and this community, they go all out for our program. And as long as that continues, then championships can happen.”

The streak began with a 56-13 win over Parma on Oct. 13, 2017. During it, No. 2 Homedale (7-1) has won all but two games by double digits with an average margin of victory of nearly 35 points. It has also averaged 40 points per game, while only allowing 6.6.

“It’s crazy, but we’re just out here doing our thing and we’re going to keep it up,” said senior wide receiver Mason Strong who had six catches for 67 yards and committed to the College of Idaho on the same day. “It’s a huge culture thing for us. We start in first grade and we’re playing with each other. We just keep on building them up, building them up, building them up. We’ve already got great groups coming up. I think our seventh graders are going to the championship.”

Rylan Binford made sure the streak and the numerous numbers associated with it all stayed intact. The senior tailback had both a receiving and a kickoff return for a touchdown.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a kid who’s had a receiving and a kickoff return for a touchdown,” Holtry said. “So this is a first.”

Binford hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jaxon Dines that extended the Trojans’ lead to 21-0 right before the break. And after the 10th-ranked Grizzlies (4-4) grabbed a little momentum on a 7-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Luke Barinaga on their first drive of the second half, Binford snatched it right back with an 83-yard return on the ensuing kickoff.

“I’ve been wanting to get a kick return. That was my goal this whole season,” Binford said. “So it’s awesome that I got to have that.”

His counterpart, junior halfback Trenton Fisher ran for two touchdowns, including the game’s first on a 1-yard dive with 4:34 remaining in the opening quarter. Dines led an offense that tallied 314 yards, with 227 and a pair of touchdowns himself. He went 14-of-17 for 186 yards, a couple touchdowns and an interception, while adding another 41 and a score on the ground.

While the game was never really in doubt, Fruitland did make things interesting at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Trailing 28-14, sophomore linebacker Quinn Hood recovered a Fisher fumble at their own 3-yard line. But the Grizzlies couldn’t capitalize. They ended up punting, fumbling and having another punt blocked on their final three possessions. Homedale took full advantage. Fisher scored on a 12-yard run and Dines found sophomore wide receiver Danny Lomeli for a 2-yard strike to put the game away.

“I told the kids in a championship type game when you face adversity, you have two choices. You can start getting down and getting frustrated or you can keep chopping wood and keep going to work and good things eventually will happen, and they did that,” Holtry said. “They worked through adversity, which is a good experience for them going into the playoffs.”

The Trojans, who held the Grizzlies to just 184 yards of total offense, will close their regular season at home against McCall-Donnelly next Friday.

Barinaga also went 14-of-23 for 140 yards and had a 24-yard touchdown to Hood for Fruitland, which hosts Weiser next week.