Photo By Steve Conner - #22 Teagan Sever
Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Minico
2. Twin Falls
3. Jerome
4. Burley
5. Mountain Home
6. Canyon Ridge
7. Wood River
Written by: Brandon Baney
As Ben Kohring enters his second year as head coach at Twin Falls High, the foundation of a successful program is continuing to be built. The Bruins went 3-6 a year ago, and earned the 16th and final Class 4A playoff berth, by virtue of finishing in third place in the Great Basin 7 conference. Their reward? A first round matchup with eventual champ Skyline, a game the Grizzlies won 49-0.
Particularly difficult to swallow among their six losses last year were a 21-20 setback against Vallivue and a 14-7 loss to conference champ Jerome.
A talented senior class headlined by quarterback Nic Swensen, tight end Tyler Robbins, offensive lineman Caleb Shepherd and linebacker Mason Swafford is no longer around. But Kohring likes what he sees so far from his squad.
“We are excited to see our growth in the skill areas of our team,” Kohring said. “That includes Jace Mahlke at wide receiver, Teagen Severe at wide receiver and return specialist, and our running back trio of James Noorlander, Wyatt Solosabal, and Grayson Keyes. We feel we have an explosive group of players that we will get the ball in their hands and let them make plays.”
The key will be the development of a somewhat green offensive line. TJ Hickmon earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors as a freshman last season, and will be joined on the O-Line by Baylee Carney and Carter Wasden. “We will be young on the line but we have better overall size over last year,” Kohring said. “Offensively we will look to improve in our run game over last year and be more balanced offensively.”
Defensively, Kohring points to Wasden at nose tackle, Isaac Lopez at outside linebacker, and Severe and Luke Moon in the secondary as cornerstones. Like the offense, if a young group of linemen can develop quickly, the Bruins could field one of the better defensive units in the conference. “Defensively we are looking to improve in our turnover margin as well as increase our 3rd down efficiency and get the ball back to our offense,” Kohring said.
Twin Falls’ schedule is loaded yet again. The Bruins will start the year with three consecutive home games against Vallivue, Pocatello and crosstown rival Canyon Ridge. The Bruins’ first road game is at defending conference champ Jerome on September 17th, and is followed by a trip to Holt Arena to play Century on September 24th in their final non-conference game. Following a bye week, the Bruins are at Wood River and Burley, before returning home for their final two contests against Mountain Home and Minico.
Kohring says Twin Falls’ success this year all hinges on the development of those young offensive and defensive linemen. “This year’s team will go as far as our bigs take us,” Kohring said. “Their chemistry will be important to our team’s success. We believe that our ceiling is high and we are looking to contend for a conference title and make a run in the playoffs.”