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Notus High School
School Info
Conference: 1AD1 Western Idaho Conference
Classification: 1A D1
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Head Coach: Sam Crockett
Years as Head Coach: 5th Season
Previous Experience: Vale (OR) Offensive Coordinator
Mountain View (WA)
Sugar-Salem
Ontario (OR)
Copper Hills (UT)
Record Last Year: 9-2
State Titles: None
Assistant Coaches:
Brad Huter
Dave Haskell
Rich Hutton
Drew Williams
Stat Girl: Megan Hostetler
Returning Players:
Michael Zimmerman, RB/DE, 12
Caleb Zimmerman, QB/DB, 12
Mark Green, WR/LB, 12
Returning Players with Honors:
Michael Zimmerman, All-Conference Honorable Mention (2016)
Caleb Zimmerman, First Team All-Conference QB/DB (2016), First Team QB (2015), Second Team DB (2014)
Mark Green, First Team All-Conference WR/LB (2016), First Team DE (2015)
Key Players lost from last year:
Graduated 12 seniors.
Brandon Patrick, Second Team All-State LB - WIC Defensive POY, First Team RB
Justin Hutton, First Team All-Conference OL/DL (Playing at EOU)
Isaiah Haskell, First Team All-Conference OL/DL
Eryck Petersen, First Team All-Conference OL/DE (Playing at College of Idaho)
Jacob Godina, First Team All-Conference Utility/DB
Chase Slate, Honorable Mention All-Conference WR
Eddi Quebrado, Honorable Mention All-Conference DB
Trey Krasowski, Honorable Mention All-Conference RB
Kyle Jones, DE
Kelly Bush, K "Mr. Game Winning Kick" - Coach Crockett
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Photo By: Kyle Riley - #11 Caleb Zimmerman
Incoming impact players:
"RJ Eno, a senior, should come in and play offensive line for us and try to pick up the slack after graduating the whole All-Conference First Team offensive line," Coach Crockett.
"Brandon Fogg, a junior, will be another running back to take the weight off of Michael Zimmerman. Fogg is coming off a great track year and has great wheels with a love of hitting kids hard," Coach Crockett.
"Jacob Petersen, a junior, will be a great addition on both sides of the ball. He filled in great on the defensive line for Justin Hutton after he was out the first three games of the year after appendix surgery. Didn't see too much time when Hutton came back, but he made a big impact at the start of the year. He is very versatile and can play running back with great speed or offensive line because he is so big and strong," Coach Crockett.
"Garret Stewart, a sophomore, will be a future bright spot at linebacker for us. He has big shoes to fill as he looks to replace Brandon Patrick on defense," Coach Crockett.
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Team Preview:
Written by: Sven Alskog
A departing 12-man senior class has the two-time defending conference champion Notus Pirates heading into the 2017 season with a bit of a new look.
Fortunately for fifth year Head Coach Sam Crockett the return of three major talents on each side of the ball in Michael Zimmerman, Caleb Zimmerman and Mark Green should help to avoid too much of a dropoff.
Caleb Zimmerman has been First Team All-Conference as a quarterback back-to-back seasons, along with being a staple on the back end of the defense from the defensive back position.
Michael Zimmerman can expect to receive a heavy bulk of the workload in the backfield, along with plenty of reps on the defensive front from the end spot on the line.
Green is a big target on offense and a solid linebacker on the other side of the field.
"Everything will go through two time First Team All-Conference quarterback Caleb Zimmerman," said Crockett. "We run a lot of option and he was very successful in doing so. Last year against Prairie he proved he can throw when needed when he threw for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns to help us get to the semis."
It's a family outing in the backfield for the Pirates, as Caleb isn't the only Zimmerman who will have a large role.
"His brother Michael will be very important in the run game," added Crockett. "Michael is ready for his turn to shine after splitting running back duties with other backs like Brandon Patrick, Trey Krasowski and Jacob Godina."
From the sample size that last year gave, Michael has high expectations from his head coach. The same goes for other key contributors surrounding the senior quarterback for the Pirates.
"He did shine a few time bright last year as he ran for over 250 yards three times last year. Mark Green will be a great target for Caleb. At 6’3” and 215 pounds he will also be a great blocker on the edge at tight end. One thing we know we need to figure out is how we are going to replace such an impressive offensive line."
Overall, the athleticism is impressive for this unit.
"I am excited about our athleticism," said Crockett. "We have kids that are really fast and have moves to juke kids out of their jocks."
That quickness translates right over to the defensive side of the ball as well, with talent all around the field.
Look for Green to be the team leader for the defense.
"Mark Green is a returning First Team All-Conference linebacker and we will look to him to lead the defense," said Crockett. "We will [also] be looking to new faces to keep other offenses out of the end zone. "
Those new faces merged with some of the returners could make the Pirates a stingy unit on defense according to the head man.
"Garret Stewart and Shae Blanford should help Mark in the linebacker spots. Look for Michael Zimmerman, [Brandon] Fogg, and [RJ] Eno at defensive end. Very fast kids to force kids inside to Green. Jacob Petersen will also be important probably on the defensive line. He did a great job filling in for [an] injured senior at the start of the year."
Plenty of exciting games are all over the schedule for Notus, but a couple key ones standout for Crockett.
"For the fans I would circle two games. It’s always a battle with Wilder and a game we never want to lose. Another is against Idaho City. I know they are an up-and-coming team with lots of young talent. That is a team that makes me nervous."
The Pirates are not the only team at the top of the conference that has lost a lot of key talent, meaning whichever squad can bounce back and fill in the blanks the quickest will have the best shot at taking the conference crown.
"For the conference I think the x-factor is who can overcome graduation losses," said Crockett. "With us, we lost a ton. Not having Mr. All World Caulen Michael will hurt Wilder a ton. And at Horseshoe Bend they lost some really fast kids. It’s all about recovery this year for the three teams at the top from the WIC."
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