Written By: Will Hoenike
The Teton Redskins take the field in 2019 coming off an at-large 3A playoff berth and returning a solid group of linebackers. But the team also belongs to the Mountain Rivers Conference, home of the defending state champion Sugar-Salem. So the competition will again be stiff this fall.
Head coach Brody Birch welcomes back first team all-conference linebacker Luke Thompson, just a junior, this fall along with fellow junior River Eddins and senior James Fullmer to spearhead the team’s defense. The group has grown and gained more experience so the Redskins should improve upon the 38 points per game allowed in 2018.
Those numbers were driven in part by a brutal end-of-season schedule that included two eventual state champions (Sugar-Salem and 2A Declo) along with 3A semifinalist Kimberly. Teton’s schedule ends with the same four teams this fall as it had last season – at Declo, then home for an improved Snake River team before Sugar-Salem and fellow playoff team South Fremont – so Birch and his program will have its work cut out for it to return to the 3A playoffs.
Senior quarterback Dylan Hess returns after receiving second team all-conference accolades last fall.
The Redskins open the campaign across state lines in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before returning home the following week to play its first home game against North Fremont. A strong start for Teton would provide needed momentum going into the tough home stretch of the season.