Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Declo
2. Wendell
3. Valley
Written by: Keller Sherman
In their first season at the 2A level, the Valley Vikings were able to notch a conference win, beating Wendell handily in a 50-14 decision. However, that turned out to be their only victory in a season in which they went 1-5 and were never closer than 14 points to any of their competition. Ryon Jarvis returns for his sixth season with the Vikings and will look to lead his team to a better campaign in their 2nd season at the 2A level.
It is common for teams to struggle when they move up a classification, but Valley will have the talent to be more competitive in 2021. They return three all-conference players in Omar Campos, Jesse Cardenas, and Jeremy Hardy. Additionally, Zander Roseborough, Robbie Staffen, and Dawson Schliz will return for the Vikings. Sophomore running back Aaron Damien is a player that Jarvis feels will come in and make an impact this season.
Valley runs a spread offense, but Jarvis feels that this offense created too many turnovers last season and as such, the team will look to take better care of the ball. On defense, the Vikings focus on a 4-2-5 setup and Jarvis sees their ability to have odd front capabilities as a strength. However, defending the run game is seen as a weakness in Jarvis’s eyes and he will look to improve on that.
The 2020 season only allowed the Vikings to play six games giving Jarvis excitement that the 2021 season will play out more like normal. The schedule should also get this team excited for the season as it will provide the team with a challenge to help them measure where they are in year two as a 2A program. It opens up with a home date against Marsing. Last year’s last place finisher in the 2A Western Idaho Conference defeated the Vikings 39-14 and Valley will look to get revenge on the Huskies at home.
A two game homestand to open the season continues when Filer visits. The Wildcats took 3rd place in the 3A Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference and also easily dispatched the Vikings 44-6. They will then hit the road for their first road game of the season with a visit to Ririe. Outside of the Wendell win, the Vikings had their closest loss of the season against the Bulldogs, losing 40-26 to the Nuclear Conference foe.
The schedule does not get any easier as defending 2A WIC champion Melba comes to town. Valley will follow that up with another WIC opponent in Nampa Christian as they head west to face the Trojans. They will then head into the conference play by hosting Declo. The Hornets defeated the Vikings in their Canyon Conference debut 76-6 and Valley would benefit from having a bye week before this game instead of after.
After the bye week, Valley will head to Wendell looking to defeat the Trojans yet again, but that will be no easy task in a road environment. As much as Wendell has struggled in recent years, the Trojans are on the rise and are considered by many to be a potential surprise team in 2021. The schedule closes out with a road game at Soda Springs. The Cardinals are another upward trending team that could surprise some people this season.
Whether you are moving from 4A to 5A or from 1A D1 to 2A, the transition can be a bumpy one. Declo has separated themselves from Valley and Wendell in the Canyon Conference and both teams still have work to do if they are to really contend with the Hornets for a conference title. However, Valley is only three years removed from their last state championship which came at the 1A Division 1 classification and the seniors on this year’s team were on that state title team as freshmen. While a state title at the 2A level is a longshot, the Vikings have the talent to at least make a run at the conference title and to do that, they will need to defeat Declo. Even if the game is competitive, it would still mark a major step forward for the Vikings program, but if they can knock off the Hornets, Valley will be ready to take the next step and prove they can compete with anyone at the 2A classification.