Assistant Coaches
Jake Monahan, Wally Foster, Nathan Horlacher, Abe Ray, Richard Hobbs, Spencer Dye, Ron Jensen, Zac Waite, Braxton Balmforth, Brian Andreason, C.j Eaton, Shad Foster, Drew Wilson, Barry Johnson

Record Last Year
3-5

State Titles
2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012

Returning Players
Tomy Bradshaw, DB, 12 (1st Team All-High Country)
Skyler Robinson, RB/LB, 12 (2nd Team All-High Country)
Cody Bowman, OL/DL, 12
Josh Gil, WR/DB, 12
Kayden Kidman, RB/DB, 11
Emmett Felsted, OL/LB, 11
Hunter Higham, OL/DL, 11
Brayden Fielding, WR/DB, 12
Braxton Fielding, LB, 12
Brock Deroche, RB/LB, 12
Hadley Carpenter, TE, 12

Key Players lost from last year
Jaxon Hess, OL/DL - He was a captain and a great leader
Brayden Johnson, RB - He was our best offensive player last year and accounted for a lot of yards

Incoming impact players
Ryker Clinger, RB, 11
C.J. Fielding, RB/DB, 11
Canyon Allphin, WR, 11
Dylan Bean, RB/LB, 11
Brecker Williams, QB, 10

Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Skyline
2. Blackfoot
3. Bonneville
4. Shelley
5. Hillcrest

Written by: Brandon Baney

It’s been a tough couple of years for the Shelley Russets football program, as they’ve made the adjustment from Class 3A football, where they were the big dog on the block, to Class 4A football, where they are the smallest school. After going 2-15 in their first two years playing 4A ball, Shelley went 3-5 last year, and just missed out on one of the final at-large bids to the postseason.

Last year marked a season of definitive improvement, and now the Russets bring back 18 of their 22 starters from a year ago, which means Shelley could launch into another stratosphere in 2021. The starters they lost to graduation were impactful, though, and include leading rusher Brayden Johnson and two-way lineman Jaxon Hess.

Despite those losses, head coach Josh Wells is optimistic about the Runnin’ Russets in 2021. “Our offensive line will be a big strength of ours in our running attack,” Wells said. “We use a run-centered Wing-T offense.”

Senior Cody Bowman will anchor the offensive line, and juniors Emmett Felsted and Hunter Higham will contribute as well. The running backs include seniors Skyler Robinson and Brock Deroche and juniors Kayden Kidman, Ryker Clinger, C.J. Fielding and Dylan Bean. Senior tight end Hadley Carpenter will also be crucial to blocking up front for the Russets.

Sophomore quarterback Brecker Williams is one of the few new starters for Shelley this year, and when they decide to pass, he will be looking for seniors Josh Gil and Brayden Fielding and junior Canyon Allphin. “We have put a lot of effort into improving our passing game,” Wells said.

Defensively, Shelley is once again full of playmakers. “Our strength defensively will be our defensive backs and linebackers, as all of them are returning starters,” Wells said.

1st Team All-Conference performer Tomy Bradshaw will lead the secondary, which also includes Gil, Kidman, and Brayden Fielding.

The linebackers are headlined by 2nd Team All-Conference selection Skyler Robinson. He’ll lead a crew that also features Felsted, Deroche, Bean and Braxton Fielding.

The defensive line is untested, but Bowman and Higham are expected to produce there.

Shelley begins its season with a road trip to Preston, followed by their annual rivalry game at Sugar-Salem. They will then host Jerome and travel to Canyon Ride. Shelley will start conference play on September 24th when they host Hillcrest and Bonneville in consecutive weeks. Their third home game in a row is their final non-conference game, on October 8th against Pocatello. Finally, Shelley could control their conference title destiny, as they finish the season on the road against the co-favorites in 2021: Blackfoot and Skyline.

After a period of unusual dormancy during the postseason, 2021 may just be the year Shelley finally returns to the playoff party.