Mountain View senior quarterback Liam Wheir passed for three touchdowns last week against South Medford. (Photo by Eric Brand)

For the second year in a row, the 5A Intermountain Conference is jumping into league play with both feet.

No. 1 Mountain View (3-0) will play host to co-No. 5 Summit (0-2) on Friday in a match-up that has decided the conference title in each of the last three seasons. Mountain View won in 2023 and 2024 before the Storm defeated the Cougars 21-14 in last year's conference opener.

“It's one of those things you circle early on,” Mountain View coach Brian Crum said. “The last several years they've been really good football games against those guys.”

The Mountain View-Summit game typically was later in the season but was moved up the last two years after the IMC added Crook County as a seventh team, skewing the schedule.

“It's an unfortunate deal,” Summit coach Corben Hyatt said. “I don't necessarily see the athletic directors changing it. It's going to be one of those things going forward.”

Mountain View, the 5A runner-up in 2023 and 2024 and a semifinalist last year, has beaten 5A No. 3 West Albany 13-10, 6A No. 7 North Medford 24-17 and South Medford 35-7. Summit, the state runner-up last year, has lost at Bishop Kelly (Idaho) 28-26 and Sheldon 21-14 in games that came down to the final possession.

“They're probably the best 0-2 team in the state,” Crum said of the Storm, which was ranked No. 1 in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll after Week 0. “They're big and strong and physical, just what you expect out of a Summit football team. We're going to have to be at our best.”

Hyatt envisions a slugfest.

“The game is going to be won in the trenches. It's always that way,” he said. “It's always a barn-burner. It's really going to depend on which team limits the turnovers and who can create plays.”

Mountain View is winning with defense, holding North Medford and South Medford to 185 and 184 total yards, respectively. The Cougars offense is starting to show signs of life, gaining more than 300 yards in the last two games after being held to 193 in the opener against West Albany.

“We're still trying to figure out who we are,” Crum said. “I don't think we've played to our potential yet. We've had some sloppy moments, some execution issues. They're got to get rid of some of that lack of focus. When they're the best version of themselves, they can be pretty darn good.”

The Cougars feature senior running back Ryder Carpenter, a third-year starter. The 6-foot, 175-pound Carpenter has rushed for a team-high 265 yards and four touchdowns this season.

“He's been the horse for us offensively,” Crum said. “He's a guy that can break it at any point. He can cut and go.”

For Mountain View, much will hinge on the play of senior quarterback Liam Wheir. He shared time at the position early last year but his season was derailed by mononucleosis. He has had ups and downs this season but is coming off his best game, completing 13 of 16 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns against South Medford.

“That second half against South Medford, he kind of just let it rip finally, and threw some really nice footballs,” Crum said. “Hopefully that was sort of a revelation of what Liam's potential is, because it's really high.”

Unfortunately for Wheir, one of his primary targets won't be available Friday. Washington State-bound senior tight end Jettson Gillam suffered a broken collarbone against South Medford and is likely to miss about six weeks.

“He was our alpha,” Crum said of Gillam, also a standout at defensive end. “He gives us the ability to do what we want to do on offense because he's so multi-dimensional.”

The Cougars are hoping Gillam makes it back for the playoffs. In the meantime, they have a capable replacement in senior Robert Capers, who caught two touchdown passes last week.

Summit lost to Bishop Kelly, Idaho's 5A champion last year, when it fell short on a potential tying two-point conversion attempt with 1:38 left. At Sheldon, the Storm gave up the winning touchdown with 32 seconds to go.

“We played pretty well against an unbelievable Bishop Kelly team” Hyatt said. “At Sheldon, we couldn't finish in the red zone, and we had three turnovers. We're 0-2, and this is a huge game for us.”

In two games, Summit senior quarterback Andrew Guthrie has completed 26 of 47 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. The reigning IMC player of the year has committed to Northern Arizona.

Storm junior Clay Johnson has rushed for 201 yards, including 159 on 28 carries against Sheldon.

Other top match-ups in Week 3:

Thursday

Eagle Point (2-0) at Springfield (2-0), 7 p.m.: The Eagles and Millers will try to build on their solid starts in the 5A Special District 5 opener for both teams. Eagle Point, 1-8 in each of the last two seasons, hasn't been 3-0 since 2018.

Friday

6A No. 1 Lake Oswego (3-0) at 6A No. 10 Sherwood (0-2), 7 p.m.: Lakers coach Steve Coury looks to become the eighth coach in state history to reach 300 wins. He is 299-97 with three state titles in 35 seasons at Lake Oswego.

6A No. 8 Mountainside (2-1) at Lakeridge (2-1), 7 p.m.: Both the Mavericks and Pacers have rebounded from losses with two consecutive wins. Lakeridge beat Mountainside in nonleague games the last two seasons, 27-20 on the road in 2024 and 33-14 at home in 2025.

6A No. 2 West Linn (2-0) at 5A No. 4 Wilsonville (1-1), 7 p.m.: A match-up that's been a long time coming. Despite existing in the same school district, perennial state powers West Linn and Wilsonville have never met before.

Canby (2-1) at 5A No. 1 Sandy (1-1), 7 p.m.: The Cougars and Pioneers, teams with high aspirations, will try to bounce back from losses in the nonleague game. Canby fell at co-No. 5 Ridgeview 36-15 and Sandy lost at home to 4A No. 1 Cascade 42-21.

4A No. 2 Cascade Christian (2-0) at 4A No. 7 Marist Catholic (1-1), 7 p.m.: Cascade Christian, last year's 3A champion, has dominated so far in its move to 4A, outscoring its two opponents 82-7. To have a chance, the Spartans must raise their game from last week, when they lost at Crescent Valley 42-35.

4A No. 1 Cascade (2-0) at 4A No. 8 Central (1-2), 7 p.m.: Last week, Central made a valiant rally before falling 17-13 to No. 3 Banks, which extended its regular-season winning streak to 45. Now the Panthers must contend with the reigning state champion Cougars.

2A No. 1 Heppner (3-0) at 2A No. 5 Lost River (1-1), 7 p.m.: Lost River spoiled Heppner's perfect season last year by stunning the Mustangs 24-22 in the state final, avenging a 43-8 nonleague loss. Both teams have played No. 4 St. Paul, with Heppner winning 60-6 and Lost River losing 37-0.

1A-8 No. 3 Dufur (1-1) at 1A-8 No. 10 Sherman (2-0), 7 p.m.: Sherman, which made the 1A-6 semifinals last year, has returned to 1A-8 Special District 3, where it finished runner-up to Dufur in 2024. The Huskies have won their first two games by a combined 74-18.

1A-8 No. 7 Harper Charter (2-0, SD4 2-0) at 1A-8 No. 1 Adrian (2-0, 0-0), 7 p.m. (MT): Last year, Harper Charter and Adrian both went 12-0 and won state titles in 1A-6 and 1A-8, respectively. Now the Hornets have moved up to 1A-8 and into Adrian's district.

1A-6 No. 5 Crow (2-0) at 1A-6 No. 4 North Lake (2-0), 4 p.m.: The teams carry momentum into the Special District 3 opener. Crow was the state runner-up last year, but lost to North Lake 41-7 in a district game.