Photo By Kelly Magee - #4 Clay Silva
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Oakley
2. Raft River
3. Lighthouse Christian
4. Glenns Ferry
5. Murtaugh
Written by: Will Hoenike
There is good news for opponents of the Lighthouse Christian Lions in 2021 – Collin Holloway, the three-time first-team All-State quarterback, has finally graduated and taken his video-game-like numbers with him.
The other side of that coin is that Clay Silva has not graduated. The senior receiver and defensive back has an opportunity to do something rare this season: earn All-State honors four years in a row (second-team as a freshman and sophomore, first-team as a junior). All he did last fall in Lighthouse Christian’s first season as a 1A Division 1 team is reel in 58 passes for 1,030 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Longtime defensive coordinator John Silvers switches headsets this year, from assistant to head coach, replacing Cory Holloway. But, starting with Silva, he’s got plenty of talent at his disposal.
The Lions also return all-conference offensive and defensive lineman Carter Munsee and sophomore Jack Dejong, who was voted second-team All-State at receiver as a freshman last season. Junior receiver and defensive back Walker Goettle also returns for Lighthouse Christian and sophomore Collin VanderHam should earn playing time as well.
One of Silvers’ tasks is to replace Holloway, the long-time triggerman of an offense that averaged over 33 points per game last season despite stepping up a division. Sophomore Case Van Leeuwen is in line to earn snaps at the quarterback position this fall but Silvers won’t be asking him to be a clone of Collin Holloway from day one. Silvers and his staff hope to establish the run behind Munsee and senior lineman Hunter Simpson this season.
Though the Lions did reach the 1A Division 1 playoffs in their first season in the classification (they defeated 11-seed Murtaugh and 3-seed Notus before losing in the semifinals to eventual state champion Raft River), the team will need some improvement on defense to take the next step. The Lions played three games against the two teams to reach the 1A Division 1 title game, Raft River and Oakley, and lost all three by an average score of 61-18. Those were the only three losses Lighthouse Christian suffered last fall.
“We’re strong on the edge and pass rushing at defensive end with Jack Dejong,” Silvers said. “We need to be more physical up front and improve at stopping teams’ inside running game.”
If you look beyond the outcomes of the three games against Raft River and Oakley, the Lions allowed just one team, Murtaugh in the opening round of the 1A Division 1 postseason, to score more than 22 points. So the team isn’t far away.
“I’m excited to get things going,” Silvers said. “We have lots of weapons all over the field and we want to be able to spread the ball around and keep people guessing where we are going next.
Barring injuries, people probably don’t need to guess where Lighthouse Christian is ultimately headed - a return to the 1A Division 1 postseason appears likely. The route and the ultimate destination will be determined on the field but the Lions have enough talent and experience to put together a strong season.