Tonight J-Town visits Spartanville in what may be the most thunderous collision since the Titanic met the iceberg.

It's two high-powered offenses. Two hard-hitting defenses. Two well-coached teams. Oh, and the Great Basin Conference West title on the line.

Should be a dandy.

Minico (5-1 overall, 2-0 GBW) celebrates homecoming and senior night while Jerome (5-1 overall, 1-0 GBW) would like to pry the conference championship from the Spartans' three-year grasp.

If the Spartans and Tigers can come anywhere close to putting on the show they did last year, fans are in for a whale of a game that will be well worth the price of admission. In last season's barnburner in Jerome, the schools combined to score 13 touchdowns and lit up the scoreboard for 91 points in a game that wasn't decided until the final seconds. Minico escaped with a 49-42 victory.

Tonight's 7 p.m. game at Bill Matthews Field will feature arguably the two best offensive players in the state at their positions: Jerome quarterback Jake Lammers and Minico running back Skylar "Poke" Morgan.

Jerome's strategy is simple: slow down Poke.

"Bottom line, the kid's a stud," Jerome coach Gary Krumm said of Morgan. "Last year we didn't contain him and Poke ran for miles. We've got to take care of Poke."

Actually, Morgan only ran for a quarter of a mile - 447 all-purpose yards to be exact - against Jerome, but the point is well taken. Morgan broke Minico's all-time single-game record with 335 yards rushing and tied the school's single-game touchdown record with four.

"If we shut him down, they've got to go to things they're not used to. We're keying on him. We're certainly not going to stop him altogether, but we've got to take care of Poke first of all, then (wide receiver Landon) Barnes is quick and good and (quarterback Chris) Joyce throws the ball really well," Krumm said.

Offensively for the Tigers?

"It's pretty simple, really. We've got to keep doing what we've been doing," Krumm said.

What they've been doing is averaging 45.5 points per game while Lammers divvies up the ball among a gamut of talented receivers and backs, including Zach Ingraham, Logan Parker, Kris Bos, Gus Callen and Kevin Williams.

"Nobody has stopped them," Minico coach Tim Perrigot said. "Jerome is very explosive offensively. We have got to find a way to control the football and put points up ourselves."

It will be the Spartan defense's biggest test since it faced Colfax (Calif.) on Sept. 13. Minico's best defense will be its offense, as the Spartans will need to sustain long scoring drives and keep the ball out of Lammers' hands.

The old cliché applies: You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him. Contain Poke. Contain Lammers. It's the high school gridiron version of Ali-Frazier. The biggest Class 4A heavyweight fight of the year in the Magic Valley.

"I think our kids will rise to the occasion," Krumm said. "They know how important it is. We'll be on the measuring stick Friday night and we'll see how good we are. It will be an entertaining game. We're going to bring all we've got and I know Tim and the Spartans will bring all they've got."

Said Perrigot: "I couldn't have written a better script. The kids will already be pumped up for homecoming and senior night, but you add J-Town to the mix and it's extra fuel to the fire. Our kids want to keep that (GBW championship) trophy in our cabinet. We've had that baby for three years and it's something that we don't want to let go."

Class 3A

Kimberly at Buhl

The Buhl football team had enjoyed a two-year Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference reign (including a Class 3A state runner-up finish in 2006) until the Kimberly Bulldogs took the title from the Indians last season with a late-game score.

Both teams stand at 2-0 in SCIC play and although there is another week of conference play left, a win tonight will put one team in the driver's seat to claim the 2008 title and the top district berth to the Class 3A state playoffs.

Buhl (5-1) has no problem striking early in games with 70 points scored during the first quarter and 69 during the second. Overall, the Indians have outscored teams 215-84 and beat up on Class 4A competition like Burley and Wood River - if the Indians played in Class 4A's Great Basin Conference West, they would be 2-1 with a guaranteed spot in the Great Eight playoffs. Leading the running game is Eric Sengvanhpheng with more than 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Cader Owen has thrown 10 touchdown passes with J.D. Leckenby (236 yards, 4 TDs) and Kurran Kelly (141 yards, 3 TDs) as primary targets.

"Hopefully, we can get started and put points up early," Buhl coach Stacy Wilson said. "The sooner we can put up points, the better the defense plays. They get more relaxed and play better. It's huge for us."

Meanwhile, Kimberly has rebounded from a 0-2 start with a four straight wins.

"We kind of got that sense of team back and where we want to go," Kimberly coach Kirby Bright said. "We've got our goals figured out and everybody's on the same page. We've become a more â€- what would you say? A solidified team the last four weeks."

Eric Marvin has rushed for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns on 103 carries, and quarterback Nick Dame has completed 14-of-38 for 249 yards and five touchdowns. His biggest target so far is Isaac Making, who has caught five passes for 119 yards and one score. The Bulldogs only scored 26 points through the first two games and started a turnaround in Hailey with a 31-10 victory over 4A Wood River.

"We have to stop the running game," Wilson said. "Marvin and (A.J.) Schroeder have dominated the last few games."

Buhl's defense has been stingy so far. Aside from allowing 48 points against Jerome, the Indians have not yielded more than 12 points to any opponent and have shut out Wood River and Gooding. Blake Finney leads the team with 58 tackles, followed by 48 from Nathan Romans. As a team, the Indians have recorded eight quarterback sacks and eight interceptions.

Kimberly has shut out its last three foes, and Jordan Cazeau leads the defense with 38 tackles (21 solo).

"Anytime you prepare for Buhl, you've got to prepare for a pretty dang tough defense," Bright said.

Class 5A

Skyline at Twin Falls

The Twin Falls football team is 1-5. The Bruins have lost games to many of their future Class 4A rivals once they drop a division next year. They struggle to maintain drives. They struggle to keep opponents to less than 20 points, even in their lone victory. They lost to Jerome.

Despite it all, the team still strives to make the Class 5A playoffs. The Bruins are 1-1 in Region Four-Five-Six, looking for win No. 2 against a struggling Skyline team (1-4, 0-1).

"I'm feeling good about this. We're going to get a win. I'm almost positive of it," said quarterback Tyler Myers after Wednesday's practice.

The week of practices got off to a slow start, according to Bruins coach Allyn Reynolds, with botched snap counts, fumbles and other mental mishaps hindering progress - the kind of stuff that will assuredly rear its ugly head Friday night.

"That's what I'm concerned about," Reynolds said. "With the miscues in snap counts, that's about composure."

Skyline runs a wing-T "with a lot of misdirection," Reynolds said. A concern voiced by both coach and quarterback pertained to the different blitzes the Grizzlies will bring on defense. Myers said that the offense would try to run more out of shotgun and sprint around the edges.

The Bruins will follow up by hosting Minico next Friday for their final home game. They will travel to Idaho Falls to play the Tigers in the final Region Four-Five-Six contest on Oct. 31.

Class 2A

Declo at Glenns Ferry

It's make or break time for Declo. At 0-1 in its new home, the Canyon Conference, the Hornets must win to remain in contention for a Class 2A state playoff berth. If Glenns Ferry loses, but beats Valley on Oct. 24, each team will be tied at 1-1 and will force a Kansas City playoff.

Class 1A Div. I

Hagerman at Lighthouse Christian

The 5-0 (6-0 overall) Pirates have three Snake River Conference contests remaining on their schedule, starting with the Lions. Lighthouse Christian is 4-2 and sitting fourth in the standings. With only two seeds to state, time is running out for the Lions to make a move up two spots to keep their season alive through November. If Hagerman and Oakely win tonight, the conference title will come down to their meeting next Friday in Oakley.

Class 1A Div. II

Mackay at Carey

The Panthers (defending Sawtooth champion, 2007 Division II runner-up and 2006 Division II champion) and Miners (Division II champion in 2005 and Class 1A 11-man champions from 1996-2001) are undefeated in Sawtooth Conference play.

Tonight's victor will likely take the conference title and top seed to the playoffs.

Bradley Guire may be reached at 208-735-3229 or bguire@magicvalley.com.