Photo By Wes Turner - #3 Carter Fortin
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Melba
2. Nampa Christian
T-3. Cole Valley Christian
T-3. New Plymouth
5. Marsing
Written by: Brandon Baney
In a lot of ways, Class 2A’s Western Idaho Conference could be the wild, wild west this season. League coaches begrudgingly agree that Melba enters the season as the WIC favorite, but beyond that there’s no consensus. Things truly appear to be up for grabs out west, and Cole Valley Christian has one of the best gunslingers in three-year starting quarterback Carter Fortin.
Fortin will have a trio of talented receivers in David Howlett, Ben Beglinger and Lincoln Gee. But as impressive as the Chargers passing game will be in 2021, head coach Mark Moreno is even more excited about the running game. “Our offensive line will not have any seniors on it and were young last year, though with a year of varsity experience under their belt I think will make big strides from last year,” Moreno said. “Junior Ryan Golenor will be taking the lead role at running back and is looking good this summer.”
A young Cole Valley team took its lumps during a 3-4 campaign a year ago. Moreno said the youth was most apparent on defense. “We gave up a lot of big plays last year,” Moreno said. “We were really young across the board so I believe with guys having had varsity experience and another year of growth to develop, we will be much better in that area.”
Defensively, Moreno believes junior cornerback Lincoln Gee could be one of the best cover guys in the WIC. He also said junior linebacker Sam Sherman could be the best overall defender in the league this year. “Overall we are going to be a very solid defensive unit at all positions with a great group of linebackers leading the way,” Moreno said. “We haven’t been able to say that for a long time, so it’s great knowing that we have some guys that can stop the run as that needs to happen to compete, especially in the 2A where there are a lot of run heavy teams. Top to bottom we will be a very sound and disciplined defense.”
When assessing his team’s biggest X-factor this season, Moreno used just one word. “Experience,” he said. “Being a very young team last year and knowing we only lost 2 impact players to graduation, there is room for a lot of optimism going into the season. Also, guys are buying into a new type of physical and disciplined football that started in the off-season. We don’t have a lot of football tradition here at Cole Valley and that is something we are changing. We are changing the way we approach the season (starting in the off-season) and are going to play every game with a different level of confidence and tenacity needed to take this program to the next level.”