Photo By Tim Wtherbee - #56 Parker Strahm
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. North Gem
2. Watersprings
3. Rockland
4. Mackay
Written by: Will Hoenike
Coming off a five-win season that resulted in an appearance in the 1A Division 2 postseason, the Watersprings Warriors come into the 2021 season with reason for optimism.
Coach Chris Strahm’s returning roster also includes two players who earned second-team All-State accolades when the season concluded.
“I’m excited to see what this team can do,” Strahm said. “They have been working together a lot this summer and hopefully their hard work will pay off.”
The team will be led up front by senior offensive and defensive lineman Parker Strahm. Strahm was voted All-State by the coaches around Idaho for his play on the offensive line but his play along the defensive front will be equally valuable, perhaps moreso, in 2021. His size, at nearly 6-foot-4 and over 230 pounds, will be tough for opponents to deal with.
“We have to be firm up the middle and get stops,” Strahm said. “We want to be able to control the speed of the game.”
A key piece of that equation is the offensive backfield of junior quarterback Jrew Plocher (a second-team All-State punter, too) and junior running back Payton West. Plocher can be shifty and evasive, which should help him escape pressure on passing downs or make tacklers miss in open field on running plays.
The offensive game-plan may have to shift a bit because of the graduation of All-State running back Matthew Almgren. He had a strong senior season and helped lead the Warriors offense to more than 37 points per game, including a whopping 88 points in an opening-round playoff victory over Hansen. Almgren ran for well over 200 yards in that victory.
“We have some height this year, we look forward to using that to our advantage,” Strahm said. “But it always comes down to blocking.”
A glance at the 2021 schedule illustrates opportunity and challenges for the Warriors. The team starts off with a pair of tough non-conference games with 1A Division 1 foe Butte County and 1A Division 2 Castleford, whom many expect to be a real threat to make a run in the postseason. And, beyond that, Watersprings plays Rocky Mountain Conference rivals Rockland and North Gem on the road this season. On the other side of the coin, 1A Division 1 Grace will come to Idaho Falls to play Watersprings and the Warriors will host budding rival Mackay on September 10.
Strahm says the total number of players in the program is low, so staying healthy will be pivotal to the Warriors’ success in 2021. Another strong season on the field will continue to build buzz around the program and Watersprings has the pieces in place to do just that, to win games and be in position to play postseason football again in November.