Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. West Side
2. Aberdeen
3. Soda Springs
4. Bear Lake
5. Malad
Written by: Keller Sherman
The Aberdeen Tigers finished the 2020 season 4-5 which included a four-game losing streak to close out the season. The first half of the season saw the Tigers knock off a 3A team in American Falls as well as traditional 2A powerhouses Declo and New Plymouth. Aberdeen will need to perform as they did in the first half of the season when they defeated these teams if they are to accomplish something great in 2021.
Jeff Duffin returns for his 10th season at the helm of the Tigers and brings back plenty of talent in all positions. Brody Beck returns after being both an all-state and all-conference selection at linebacker.
In addition, Cale Adamson and Logan Palmer earned all-conference honors on offensive line and at linebacker respectively with Justice Bright was an honorable mention.
Duffin is also excited for the return of Conner Johnson, Jose Barba, Jordan Villegas, and Cael Harris. He believes that every senior is crucial to his team and their losses will always be felt by the team each season. He states “as always, we’ll miss all of last year’s seniors.” Marshall Elliott is an incoming impact player that will look to strengthen the running back and safety positions.
Aberdeen’s offense finds its strength in execution, but Duffin still hopes to continue to improve in this area. Running a shotgun D-wing offense with only 3 returning linemen with Jose Barba, Cale Adamson, and Cael Harris. Duffin has “put extra work over the summer getting our upcoming linemen ready for the season.” Even with the youth in this position, Duffin still feels that “as a group they have made huge progress over the summer.”
Duffin will look to one player in particular to be a game changer on the offensive line. “Emmanuel Carrillo (Pappas) at 6’3” 275 has surfaced as a potential game changer on the line for us this year.” he said. The backfield will be loaded with the return of several key players. These include Brody Beck, Justice Bright, Conner Johnson, Jordan Villegas, Marshall Elliott, and Logan Palmer.
The defense will follow “the philosophy of bend, but don’t break.” In order to win games, especially the big ones, you can’t give up big plays. Duffin wants to be able to “make teams try and beat us by slowly moving the ball downfield.” He sees his team’s strength in their ability to play as a unit, but is also confident in the talent possessed by each of his individual players.
The linebacker core is a major source of excitement for Duffin coming into this season. It will consist of Brody Beck, Logan Palmer, Cale Adamson, Micah Nelson, Nick Medel, and Carl Harris. “We’re hoping they mesh well as a unit and lead our defense.” he said of his linebackers.
Consistency will be the main area of focus for the defense this season. Duffin states “Our biggest improvements on defense need to be made in our consistency. We need to be better at knowing and executing the game plan throughout each drive, quarter, and game. We had too many missed opportunities to get off the field last year.”
Duffin believes that there is a lot of parity in the conference. West Side will be the clear favorite while Malad is expected to be at the bottom. That leaves Aberdeen along with Soda Springs and Bear Lake in the middle vying for 2nd place. West Side will visit Aberdeen in 2021 giving Duffin confidence that his team can surprise people and knock off the Pirates.
Duffin’s confidence in being able to contend with anyone they play is fueled by multiple factors. He states “Brody Beck on both sides of the ball will have an impact this year. We are also excited about getting Justice Bright in space with the ball, he is a very illusive athletic runner. We also moved Cale Adamson to TE. Cale has really came on strong over the past year. After clocking a 4.59 40 time, we realized he needed to be moved to a position where we can get him the ball on offense, he will also be a huge impact player on defense this year.”
The Tigers will have to navigate one of the most difficult schedules in the state in 2021. It opens on August 27th at home versus American Falls, which despite being a 3A school, may be one of the easier games on the docket. This will benefit the team before a big challenge awaits. Aberdeen will head to Declo looking to beat the Hornets for the second year in a row. The win last season gave the Tigers a major win in their 2020 campaign, but they will face a much more difficult challenge in a road environment.
It will not get any easier for Aberdeen as they return home to face a team that made it all the way to the 3A state semifinals last season in South Fremont. They will then travel to Soda Springs in the first of three consecutive games away from home for the Tigers with games at Malad and North Fremont to follow.
The schedule closes with a two game homestand against West Side and Bear Lake. The Tigers will need to take full advantage of everything they have learned throughout the season and be solid in every area of the ball if they are to pull the upset over the Pirates on October 15th who will have Cage Brokens, a player that Duffin along with many others expect to be really good this season.
Having one of the most difficult schedules in the state will be a strong motivator for the team to go out and play their hearts out every week and prove that they belong in the elite tier of 2A programs statewide. Aberdeen will have opportunities waiting for them at every corner as they will face six teams that cracked the state playoffs, four of which advanced to at least the semifinals at both the 2A and 3A levels.
Aberdeen has the talent and coaches to have an amazing season. While many expect West Side to run away with another conference title, Duffin’s team is confident that they can accomplish just about anything they set their minds to and they will not go away without a fight.