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Homedale High School
School Info
Conference: 3A Snake River Valley Conference
Classification: 3A
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Head Coach: Matt Holtry
Years as Head Coach: 8th Season
Previous Experience: Assistant at Nampa for 6 years
Record Last Year: 9-2
State Titles: 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1997
Assistant Coaches:
Chris Wright
Hayden Wright
Alex Wilson
Tony Uranga
Randy Lyons
Returning Players:
Fabian Alcantara, OL/DL, 12
Ryan Criffield, OL/DL, 12
Jake Deal, DB/WR, 12
Wyatt Dorsey, OL/DL, 12
Kendall Freelove, TE/DL, 12
Jacob Furlott, RB/DB, 12
Caleb Meligan, RB/DB, 12
Adrian Monreal, K, 12
Wyatt Wolfe, DB/WR, 11
Max Mertz, LB/RB, 11
Scott Matlock, OL/DL, 11
Clayton Wolfe, OL/DL, 10
Returning Players with Honors:
Jake Deal, All-Conference Honorable Mention DB
Wyatt Dorsey, All-Conference First Team OL
Kendall Freelove, All Conference Second Team TE and Honorable Mention DL
Jacob Furlott, All-Conference Second Team RB
Caleb Meligan, All-Conference Honorable Mention DB
Adrian Monreal, All-Conference Honorable Mention K
Wyatt Wolfe, All-Conference Honorable Mention WR
Scott Matlock, All-Conference Second Team OL
Clayton Wolfe, All-Conference Honorable Mention OL
Key Players lost from last year:
Lawsen Matteson, 3 year starter at QB
Josh Tolmie, RB/DB, 3 year starter at RB
Jakobee Osborn, DL/H, 4 year starter at DL
Conner Carter, WR/LB, First Team All-State WR
Garrett Carter, WR/DB, All-Conference on both sides of the ball
Chase Martell, WR/DB, 2 year starter at DB
Dylan Burks, OL/LB, starting middle LB
John Collett, RB/LB, 2-way starter at H and LB
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Photo By: Kelly Magee - #62 Wyatt Dorsey
Incoming impact players:
Max Mertz, LB/RB, 11
Carson Brown, WR/DB, 10
Mason Kincheloe, RB/DB, 10
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Team Preview:
Written by: Sven Alskog
With the exodus of Emmett to the 4A classification for the upcoming season, Homedale looks to become the class of the 3A Snake River Valley Conference moving forward.
The Trojans were one of the top teams in the state in 2015, but unfortunately for them and everyone else in the classification, Emmett was a dominant force on its way to the state championship.
While Homedale lost plenty of talent from that 9-2 team which made it all the way to the state semifinals, expect the squad to be in more of a reloading mode rather than a rebuilding one.
Eighth year Head Coach Matt Holtry is most excited about the cohesiveness he is seeing out of his team.
"Such a tight-knit group and fun group to be around in general. No individuals on this team. Guys that just love the game and love to play the game as a team."
It doesn't get much more tight-knit than the experienced and talented offensive line.
"Our strength this year is in our offensive line. We return four starters from last year's team who saw significant playing time throughout the season and their level of communication and trust in one another is going to be key to our success this year," said Holtry. "Wyatt Dorsey, Scott Matlock, Ryan Criffield and Clayton Wolfe all look to return and get us back into the playoff scene."
Gone are three year starters in quarterback Lawsen Matteson and running back Josh Tolmie. Another trio of weapons was lost from the receiving core, highlighted by the graduation of All-State wide receiver Conner Carter.
What those losses mean is an increased importance on that offensive line to open up holes for an offense which will likely rely fairly heavily on the ground game, at least early on.
Jacob Furlott was a Second Team-All Conference selection and is going to be the primary option for the Trojans.
Defensively Homedale has been outstanding, including holding seven teams below seven points last year, although the loss of each starting linebacker makes things difficult.
It's the defensive line which will need to be the anchors of the unit.
"We return three defensive linemen from last year, as well as three defensive backs. Kendal Freelove and Scott Matlock at defensive end and Wyatt Dorsey at defensive tackle," said Holtry. "Clayton Wofle, Ryan Criffield, Isaiah Lopez and Fabian Alcantara are all 225 pound plus defensive line guys that will also contribute and look to make our defensive front a solid one. Jacob Furlott, Caleb Meligan and Jake Deal all return in the defensive backfield as well."
Multiple areas will be focused on to try to get Homedale to the next step, including improving in the red zone and executing first downs on offense, along with finding a new linebacking core on the other side of things.
The Trojans have a fairly soft landing to begin the 2016 campaign, not facing a 3A Idaho school until Weiser on September 23. Circle the matchup with Fruitland on September 30 as the conference rivalry which could very well decide the SRV champion.
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