If there was any match-up in 1A Division I that you could have circled at the beginning of this season, this may have been it.
"The Pirate Bowl": the defending state champion Hagerman Pirates vs. one of the new 1A Division I teams, the Butte County Pirates.
Last season, this game wouldn't have even existed. Butte County was a 2A school, but one that had to petition up three times to stay that way. Finally, the Arco version of the Pirates dropped down to 1A. And now, the number one team in the state and defending state champions are in their conference.
Not only is this a big game for Butte County because of the win streak Hagerman is on, it has implications regarding bracket placement for the state tournament.
The District VI version of the Pirates return quite a few standout players from last season, including senior Tyler Andreason, the 2011 2A Nuclear Conference Player of the Year, along with senior Dylan Coon, senior Randy Hjelm, and senior Tommy Kern. Don't forget about the senior lineman for the Pirates in Mike Langseth and Hayden Isham as well.
Butte County has rattled off a 5-1 record en route to a stellar start in their 8-man football debut. Normally, that would probably be good enough for first or second place in the conference. But not this year. Hagerman holds the top spot and Grace takes second place by virtue of the Grizzlies victory over Butte County.
Regardless of record, we all know that anything can happen once game time rolls around. Butte County is one of the best defensive teams in the state, giving up an average of 11.7 points per game, while putting up 45.7 points per game offensively. Outside of their close loss to Grace, Butte County has steamrolled every opponent they have played.
But if Butte County has steamrolled opponents, Hagerman has flat-out annihilated them.
The Pirates team from District IV hasn't had a close game all season. Through their first three games, they held their opponents to an average of just 2.7 points per game. Even in their game with Grace, the second place team in the conference, it was blowout as they hammered the Grizzlies 66-20. Hagerman averages 55.7 points per game while giving up only 10.3 points per game. Do the math and it's a virtual mercy rule margin of victory every game.
Hagerman brings back quite a few players from their state championship team last season, and it certainly shows. They return three all-state players in senior Justin Arriaga, junior Dillon Henslee and junior Kade Kress (Kress was the Idaho 8-man State Player of the Year as a sophomore). Don't forget about their three all-conference selections in senior Jesse Ayala, junior Austin Funkhouser, and junior Herman Sandoval.
Just like it was said in the 2012 Fall Edition of IdahoSports.com Sports Guides, Hagerman has the horses to make another title run. They are well on their way to that. But they first have to go through Butte County.
Anything can happen come game time. The question is which band of Pirates will come out victorious and earn the proverbial spoils of a conference championship?
On Friday night in Arco, you can be a part of the action. Join myself and the legend Paul Kingsbury as we bring you coverage of Butte County vs. Hagerman in the Pirate Bowl here on IdahoSports.com.
To watch the webcast, click on the link below:
http://www.idahosports.com/gamestreams/player/default.aspx?webcastid=3721
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