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The Clark County Bobcats and Watersprings Warriors will form a football co-op for the 2017 football season, pending approval by the Idaho High School Activities Association. The news was first reported by Marlowe Hereford of the Post Register.
"We're hoping that we can have the co-op approved shortly," said Watersprings athletic director Aaron Booth. "The paperwork for it has been submitted to the IHSAA. Our district secretary Glenn Romney said these things normally take a few days."
According to Booth, it was Clark County that approached Watersprings about the possibility of forming a football co-op. Clark County does have a number of seniors, but there would not be enough players overall to field team on their own. The Bobcats went 2-6 during the 2016 season (not including a forfeit win over Richfield), while Watersprings posted an 0-6 record. If the co-op is approved, the team will remain in the 1A Division-II classification and compete in the Sawtooth East Division.
The two schools are separated by a little more than 51 miles, making an interesting dynamic for practice time. As of this writing, it was unknown if the teams would practice at one location for the entirety of the season or switch between schools on a rotating basis.
"We're trying to get that set up right now, along with our game schedule," said Booth. "Jill Grover (Clark County AD) and myself are anticipating to have the game schedule finalized in the next day or two." Booth added that the most likely scenario would have Clark County drop all of their scheduled games, assume the Warriors team name, and play Watersprings' slate of games.
Clark County was supposed to open up the 2017 season at home against Glenns Ferry on Aug. 25. The same day, Watersprings is scheduled to face Lighthouse Christian in Twin Falls.
As for homecoming and senior night, Booth said that they could potentially play both the homecoming and senior night games in Dubois as Clark County has significantly more seniors than the Warriors do.
This story will be updated as more information is received.
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