Preseason Coaches' Poll
T-1. Marsh Valley
T-1. Snake River
3. American Falls
Written by: Brandon Baney
The Snake River Panthers lived on the edge a year ago. Two of their three victories came by single digits (12-7 over Teton and 23-21 over Marsh Valley).
Now consider these losses from a year ago that could have turned into wins: 30-26 against Kimberly, 21-18 against Blackfoot, and 28-26 against Kimberly again.
That last loss in particular was tough to swallow. In a quarterfinal playoff matchup, Snake River led with a minute to play before Kimberly scored a dramatic touchdown to pull out the victory.
So when people look at Snake River's 3-6 mark from a year, they might not be impressed. A closer look reveals a team that had a little good luck, but mostly bad luck in 2020.
Snake River has high hopes this year, and it rests wit the return of the conference Player of the Year on offense, senior quarterback Cole Gilbert.
"We have an excellent quarterback in Cole Gilber," said head coach Jeb Harrison. "He will be a three-year varsity starter. He is accurate and can throw the ball deep, and he's a very good runner as well."
Gilbert will be expected to lead an offense that only brings back four starters from last year, although coach Harrison noted that several of the new starters saw playing time last year.
The Panthers are always known for their strong ground game, and have a pair of senior running backs in Carson Hawker and Zach Stailey leading the way there. Three-year starting wide receiver Tryey Poulter is gone, but a possible replacement could be sophomore Andy Serna. The offensive line will be led by juniors Josh Curzon and Ben Mathews.
Overall, if Snake River can hold onto the ball and get good blocking up front, the Panther offense will be tough to stop. "We fumbled the ball away too many times last year," Harrison said. "That alone took us out of some games. We need to win at the line of scrimmage and be more physical. Our O-line will determine our success."
Defensively, Harrison is expecting big things from his linebackers. Keegan Ashley, Emilio Caldera and Colton Jensen are all senior impact players there. In addition to his quarterbacking duties, Gilbert will also play free safety. "Our secondary is much improved," Harrison said. "With our new additions at DB, we should be better on the back end."
Snake River will start with a rematch of last year's playoff loss when they host Kimberly on August 27th. They will also play South Fremont and Teton from District 6, 4A schools Blackfoot and Preston, and the defending 2A state champs from West Side.
"We have an extremely tough schedule," Harrison said. "We will battle every week with quality opponents. We will run the gauntlet through our schedule and be ready for the playoffs. If we can get through it healthy, we will be ready."