Team Preview:
Written By: Matt Harris

Malad turns to a new face in 2018 to try to get their football program back on track.

The Dragons hired Kory Kay as their new head football coach on March 8 and hope that his youth and exuberance for the job will turnaround a program which has struggled for the better part of three years. Malad has not won a game since September 4, 2015 and is currently on a 20-game losing streak.

Kay, who grew up in Swan Lake, attended Marsh Valley High School and played under then-Eagles head coach Jason Taylor. While in college, he served as an assistant under Taylor at West Jefferson High School for two seasons. Following his graduation from BYU-Idaho, he served as an assistant coach at Filer.

The 26 year-old is looking forward to the task ahead of him and his staff.

“The kids have worked their tails off this summer and hopefully we will see benefits from it,” he said. “We’re focused on getting to know the kids through workouts and building relationships with them and excitement for the coming season.”

He added that Malad has a great group of seniors that are good examples on and off the field for the younger players.

The coach emphasized that the Dragons have the talent and ability to compete and revitalize the football program.

“I know Malad had been successful in the past, especially during the McKay Young years, and I feel like there is no reason for them to not be successful,” Kay said. “I was able to be part of ‘rebuilds’ in each of my previous coaching stops and loved that and I hope to build a successful program here.”

One of the facets of rebuilding that program will be having everyone on board. Kay says for the rebuild to work, the players, coaches, and even the community have to completely buy in to the new program. It starts with getting the kids to believe that they can be successful.

“I’ve been privileged to work with some of the better coaches in Idaho and have learned more from them than I could ever hope to teach anyone else,” he said in a Malad press release back in March. “In my few short years of coaching, I’ve seen coaches change the tradition and culture of programs. I hope to bring change to Malad and build a tradition of winning and success in athletics.”

“Any individual willing to put in the time and effort can achieve any goal they desire.”

Kay hinted that they plan on using a run-oriented attack offensively and that improvement in their blocking schemes will play a big role in their success on offense. They also want to force the pass defensively and become a solid, run-stopping unit – with success garnered from discipline in defensive assignments.

Malad will play an 8-game schedule this season, beginning at home against their I-15 counterparts, Marsh Valley on Aug. 24. The Dragons then travel northward to face Ririe in Week 2, before returning home to take on Wendell on Sept. 7.

The orange-and-black will make another trip to District 6 on Sept. 14 when they face the West Jefferson Panthers and Kay’s former coach, Jason Taylor. Conference play then opens on Sept. 21 when the Dragons host Soda Springs. A trip to Dayton is in the cards on Sept. 28 when Malad faces West Side.

Senior night for the Dragons will be on Oct. 5 when they host Bear Lake. Following a bye week, the regular season concludes with a road matchup against 2A power Aberdeen.