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Written By: Matt Harris

American Falls has turned over the reigns of their football program to longtime coach Cory Hollingsworth with the hope that he can bring stability and long-term success.

The Beavers have had quite a bit of coaching turnover in recent seasons, including each of the last two offseasons. Hollingsworth hopes to be able to fully establish a revitalized program from top to bottom.

“I took the job because of the opportunity to turn American Falls into an excellent program,” said Hollingsworth, who has coached at Firth, Aberdeen, and was most recently an assistant at West Jefferson. “To see sustained success on the field, we must have a new attitude and an emphasis on toughness and discipline.”

He added that the Beavers’ preparations for the upcoming season are going well and they, as a whole, are off to a good start.

“The kids have worked hard [over the summer]. We had good weight room participation and a successful camp.”

American Falls returns a few starters from last year’s squad which went 2-6. Wyatt Kearn, Luka Schneider, and Branson Van Sell will anchor the offensive line, while Garrett Burgemeister will man the fullback position and work with running backs Jose Cervantes and Beau Beck in the backfield.

Hollingsworth expects these athletes’ style of play to translate well into their offense and have a large impact on defense too.

“We have a lot of tough, hard nosed football players,” he said. “We should be real physical.”

Van Sell is the lone returner on the defensive line, but will have plenty of experience behind him as Burgemeister, Kearn, and Schneider lead the linebacking corps. Cervantes and Beck will help anchor the secondary.

A problem the Beavers have had issues with in recent seasons is a lack of depth at many positions, which is something they will face once again in 2018.

“We are pretty thin [numbers wise] and the kids will have to overcome that problem,” Hollingsworth said.

The Beavers will play an 8-game schedule this season and kick off the new campaign at home on Aug. 24 in the “War of the Reservoir” matchup against rival 2A power Aberdeen. They then hit the road for a test against a good Kimberly team on Aug. 31.

September opens with the team hosting Filer on Sept. 7 and Sugar-Salem on Sept. 21 with a bye week sandwiched in between. They end the month on the road against Battle Mountain of Nevada, a team they have played the last four seasons, on Sept. 28.

American Falls begins the month of October with their final non-conference game of the season, a home date against Soda Springs on Oct. 5. Conference play then opens on Oct. 12 when the Beavers take on Snake River at home, before finishing the season on the road at Marsh Valley on Oct. 19.