Photo By Patty Theurer - #3 Zander Allen
Preseason Coaches' Poll
T-1. Homedale
T-1. Weiser
3. McCall-Donnelly
4. Fruitland
5. Payette
6. Parma
Written by: Keller Sherman
A 3-5 record in 2020 gave the Payette Pirates their best record since a 5-5 campaign in 2012 that saw the team advance to the state quarterfinals. Can the Pirates build on that and perhaps end an eight year playoff drought?
Kip Crofts returns for his 5th season at the helm of the Pirates as he continues to work at building his team into a contender in the Snake River Valley Conference. With six players receiving all-conference honors coming back including one first-team selection, the Pirates will use this talent to build on the successes of the 2020 campaign.
In a victory over Parma last season, Payette snapped a 22-game conference losing streak that dated back to October 17, 2014 when they beat Weiser, marking a major step forward for the Pirates. Additionally, they showed that they can perform well in close games, as they were 2-0 in one possession games last season. If Payette can keep games close, perhaps they can sneak away with a big victory.
The offense will be led by second team all-conference quarterback Abe Rodriquez. He will have plenty of weapons to work with as Gabe Ramos returns at running back while Zander Allen and Ty Waynetska are back at wide receiver. Crofts also names two incoming juniors that he is excited to see step up at wide receiver in Luke Neill and Martin Ceballos. He feels that both have worked hard in the summer and are ready to step up in the fall. The offensive line returns seniors Joe Carl and Braxton Ruth and they will look to fill in holes left behind by all-conference honorable mention Brenden Deaseleer.
The overall returning talent on offense makes Crofts feel good that his offense will be able to reload and become more experienced and confident. He hopes that this will help his team improve in the run game as well as getting more first downs which should translate to more points on the board.
The defensive side of the ball also features some notable returners to get excited about. Linemen Joe Carl, Braxton Ruth, and Chris Mott, all of whom brought home all-conference honors, return. Waynetska will help out a defensive back unit that will feature a number of incoming juniors. Gabe Ramos is expected to play linebacker and is another key player that Crofts feels will help lead his defense to success this season. Similar to his offense, Crofts feels that experience and confidence will lead the way on defense. He hopes that this will help his team make stops and get off the field.
While Payette has struggled as a program in recent years, that has not taken away from Crofts’s excitement entering this season. He states “I’m excited to see just how far we can go. This is a great group of young men!” Knowing that the three wins from last season were more than his first three Pirates teams combined, he realizes the importance of keeping his team excited and using his program’s best season since 2012 as motivation moving forward. Crofts feels that the most important thing to his team’s success will be health. He further addresses this by stating “We always struggle with injuries, especially as we enter conference play”.
The Pirates will face a challenging schedule in 2021, opening things up on August 27th at Cole Valley Christian. The two teams were supposed to meet last year, but the game was called off due to Coronavirus concerns.
A September 3rd visit from New Plymouth will be followed by a stretch of three road games at Marsing, Wendell, and Parma. While Payette beat all three of these teams last season, it will prove to be a challenging stretch for the Pirates as these teams look to avenge their losses from last season on their home fields.
Payette then returns home for a two game homestand against two of the conference’s most challenging teams. They will first face Weiser, a team that Crofts feels is “deep and well coached”. In addition, he also lists two players for the Wolverines that he feels could give his team some trouble in Brett Spencer and Rylee Willet.
The Pirates will then host Homedale the following week. The Trojans are a team that Crofts, along with many others, have high expectations for this season. They will follow a challenging two game homestand with a trip to Fruitland, a team that Crofts knows is good on an annual basis. Payette closes out the schedule at home against McCall-Donnelly.
2021 will be a pivotal year for Payette. After coming off their best season in eight years, the Pirates will need to continue to build on this momentum. Crofts is hoping that his team will step up and surprise some people and if his team is to do this, they will need a statement win. The three teams considered by many to be in the top half of the conference all visit Payette, giving the Pirates a great opportunity to knock one of them off. If they can hang around and keep games close going into the 4th quarter, Payette could shock someone and in doing so, it would mark major progress towards growing into a regular contender in the conference.