Photo By Patty Theurer - #13 Tacoma Kelly
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Horseshoe Bend
2. Council
3. Garden Valley
4. Tri-Valley
5. Salmon River
Written by: Will Hoenike
Veteran leadership at quarterback. College-level athleticism in the backfield. The Long Pin’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Those are just some of the things that Garden Valley head coach Jason Yearsley is looking to replace on the Wolverine football team in 2021.
Gone are Corban Fields, Covy Kelly, and Devin Yearsley. So is all-conference performer Josh Gillespie. But a program that has reached the 1A Division 2 state playoffs three years in a row along with winning 11 of its past 13 Long Pin Conference matchups knows how to replace graduated talent.
The Wolverines appear strong up front, returning all-conference performers Gavin Kelly and Jaiden Hunt. Kelly was an All-Long Pin performer at center, while Hunt also earned All-Long Pin honors on the offensive line. But it’s Hunt’s potential on the other side of the ball that really excites Yearsley.
“Jaiden Hunt is set to be a force (on defense),” Yearsley said. “(Assistant) Coach (Scott) Fields has a year under his belt now and plans to make some adjustments to work with the group we have this season.”
Garden Valley’s non-conference schedule was as tough as anyone in Idaho in 2020, facing 1A Division 2 powers Carey and Dietrich along with 1A Division 1 state runner-up Oakley as well as 1A Division 1 Wilder. Once the Wolverines got into league play, they allowed 0, 8, and 0 points before capturing the Long Pin title with a thrilling 42-36 win over rival Horseshoe Bend in the final week of the regular season. Keeping with that trend, Garden Valley opens its season with non-conference games at home against Carey and Dietrich before traveling to Wilder. It will give the coaching staff a good opportunity to prepare the team for Long Pin games, starting with Salmon River on September 24.
“We need to spread the ball around and make good decisions,” Yearsley said. “We have a lot of guys who are new to their positions and we need to do our jobs and work as a team.”
The team returns several skill-position players who got playing time last season but who now must step to the forefront. Seniors Hunter Fields and Trinity Ross lead the way, along with sophomores Kade Zimmer and Tacoma Kelly. Mix in juniors Nathan Gillette and Aaron Nokes and it is clear Garden Valley will have good competition for playing time once the season kicks off. Junior Nathan Willoughby saw time along the team’s offensive and defensive lines last season and should see plenty of time on the field as well.
The Wolverines have finished either first or second in the Long Pin each of the past three seasons, so the bulls-eye is squarely on the back of the purple and yellow jerseys of Garden Valley. Horseshoe Bend and Council also reached the 1A Division 2 state playoffs last season and it seems possible that the same teams could be representing the Long Pin in the postseason again in 2021. Salmon River and Tri-Valley will have something to say about that (Cascade will not field its own team this fall, rather its players will co-op with McCall-Donnelly) but expect Garden Valley to be in position to defend its Long Pin title this fall.