Written By: Sven Alskog
Implementing an entirely new system and mindset will always take time and plenty of hard work.
For second year Emmett head coach Rich Hargitt, his new offense has now had one year to be installed throughout the program, with loads of youth gaining valuable varsity playing time during that season.
Some of the fruits of that labor should start to be seen as soon as this season, with junior running back Westyn Smith and a host of young talent eager to get to work and build on a quality end to the year which saw the Huskies put up 26, 40, 36 and 20 points in four of their last five games after scoring 50 combined in the first four contests.
Emmett struggled to slow the high-powered offenses within the 4A SIC down though, allowing 45 points or more in every loss. In the October 5 win against Caldwell, the Huskies held the Cougars to just 16 points in a 36-16 victory.
Linebackers Koa Harriet and Axel Sanchez are two of the pieces that benefited from playing time in 2018 and should continue to display more growth this time around. Smith also will see time at linebacker.
As one of the smaller 4A schools in Idaho, the challenge will always be numbers and depth. The fact that the Huskies have won before in the classification should shed some light on what the program is able to do however. The question is, how long will it take to get back to that level and will the school drop back down to 3A before that question is ever answered?
Emmett begins 2019 on August 30 with a home game against Columbia.