Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Butte County
2. Grace
3. Challis
Written by: Will Hoenike
When veteran coach Sam Thorngren calls out the name Gammet at practice this fall, it’s going to feel like half the players on the field will turn around.
There’s senior Boone Gamett, a second-team all-conference defensive lineman last season. Then there are juniors Corey (QB/DL) and Talon (RB/DL). And then, just for good measure, there’s Braxton, a sophomore tight end and linebacker.
Okay, so it’s just four. And it’s not that uncommon for family blood to run deep in small-community programs like Butte County in Arco, where turnout is usually strong and the on-field results are usually good.
The Pirates went 4-3 last fall in an uncertain, COVID-interrupted fall. Thorngren and his staff are ready to turn the page and see the players, a year older and more experienced, put it all together on the field.
“Last year, we struggled learning our assignments,” Thorngrem said. “Part of that was due to our youth and part of that was probably due to the uncertainty of the season from week to week due to COVID-19.”
The fruits of those labors, though, come in the form of an experienced team. The Pirates are only looking to replace one starter on offense and two on defense from last season.
“There should be some great competition going on for playing time,” Thorngren said. “We have good size, depth, and team speed.”
The Pirates return Ethan Smith, a second-team All-State performer last fall, for his senior year along the defensive front. The defense allowed just over ten points per game in the team’s four wins but, in the team’s three losses, that number ballooned to 58 points per game. To be fair, each of the three teams to beat Butte County last fall went on to play for state championships (Oakley defeated Raft River in the 1A Division 1 title tilt while Dietrich won the 1A Division 2 title) but it helps illustrate the emphasis the Pirate coaching staff will be putting on consistency and discipline this season, particularly on defense.
Smith will be joined up front by Boone Gamett, seniors Porter Taylor and Jonah Reynolds, and junior Rushton Anderson, giving Butte County good depth in the trenches. Defensively, that should allow linebackers Treyton Miller, Jadan Jones, KJ Williams, Braxton Gamett, Cooper Coleman, and Brycen Cutler to make plays. Offensively, that group should open holes for Miller, Cutler, Talon Gamett, and Lawson Moncur to run the football effectively.
“We pride ourselves on running the ball,” Thorngren said. “We have an experienced line and a deep stable of backs.”
Thorngren is hopeful that the returning experience will allow the Pirates to open things up a bit on both sides of the ball. It helps to have a returning starter at quarterback in senior Tyler Wanstrom. Wanstrom will have Smith and Gamett at tight end when the team goes to the air, along with wide receivers Jones and Rebel Beard.
Butte County is part of a three-team conference with Grace and Challis and Thorngren sees it as a three-horse race for the one guaranteed berth to the 1A Division 1 state playoffs. Either – or perhaps both – of the other teams have a chance to play their way in, too, since there are seven at-large berths available to fill out the 12-team tournament bracket in November.
It puts a real premium on the final weeks of the season for the Pirates, who host Challis on October 8, have a week off, and then travel to Grace on October 24. Butte County appears to have the pieces to make a run in November but one bad week at the wrong time could put a team on the outside looking in while other teams compete for a state championship.