Photo By Randy Jones - #2 Casey Cope
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Bishop Kelly
2. Middleton
3. Emmett
4. Vallivue
5. Nampa
6. Columbia
7. Ridgevue
8. Caldwell
Written by: Adam Bridges
Every year, the teams that finished in the middle of their division try to improve in the areas that they lacked upon in their previous season to try to make it over the hump. After going 5-4 last season, Vallivue plans to strengthen the parts of their team that were successful and improve in the areas that they did not do so well in last year to try to be the best in their division.
This team is on the verge of getting out of the ‘moderate team’ category and stepping into the ‘top team’ group this season. The key to getting into this new tier lies in the hands of their returning star players. These players include senior quarterback Casey Cope, senior running back Santiago Diaz, senior center Anthony Calderon, senior linebacker Carson Fox, and senior cornerback Braxdon Bailey.
Along with their key returning players, Vallivue’s incoming breakout players also will play a huge role in the Falcons trying to become an elite team this year. These players are junior guard Shawn Gassett, junior linebacker Koa Maio, junior tailback and cornerback Tyson Fox, and senior offensive tackle Cody Doser.
Despite all of these new and returning star players, the Falcons still suffered a huge blow after losing players like defensive lineman Braydon Ary, wide receiver Lincoln Marler, linebacker Josiah Sims, and linebacker Tanner Buckley this year.
This Falcons offense looks dangerous and ready to compete this year. Their offense is built around the success of every player on the field. If one player fails to do their job, the whole offense will be hurt. The positive about this offense is that when everyone does their job, this offense will be so successful that it would be like stopping a high-powered machine on the field for defenses.
The biggest area the Falcons are trying to improve on this year on offense is their average yards per carry. If they can average more than 4 yards per carry, then the offense would be averaging a very manageable 2 yard-to-go average on third down and be averaging a new first down marker after every third down attempt.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team plans to use their experience to their advantage. They have 7 experienced players returning this year to start for them including free safety Casey Cope, safety Kip Childs, cornerback Braxdon Bailey, nose tackle Anthony Calderon, and linebackers Carson Fox, Santiago Diaz, and Cannon Hyde.
Their biggest area to improve on defensively is how they handle the deep ball. No defense can be successful if they allow the opposing offense to complete on fade routes every play. This means that if the Falcons can stop the offense from connecting on deep throws, then the defense will be in better shape.
This team seems to have a very special group together and can totally succeed if they play fast, smart, and physical football every down. Everyone should look out for this team as the year progresses. There tends to be one ‘dark horse’ team each year and it looks very likely that the Vallivue Falcons will be that team this year.
“I feel like the team is really important to each player. I’m excited to see where we go with this group of young men,” said Vallivue head coach Layne Coffin.