Written by: Keller Sherman
Cole Valley Christian enters the 2023 campaign with a grand opportunity to win a conference title. Many see the Chargers as a team that can take the 2A Western Idaho Conference by storm. Melba and Nampa Christian are without numerous key pieces from last season while New Plymouth and Marsing are fairly young. Can Cole Valley come out on top in what should be an exciting conference race?
Mark Moreno enters his fourth year as the head coach of the Chargers and he brings back a lot of returning production. Ben Beglinger, Kaden Krogh, Tanner Simonson, Micah Gee, Paul Penrod, Peyton Paul, and Cody Simonson are key returning players for Cole Valley.
The Chargers return four players that earned spots on all-conference teams in 2022. This includes two first team selections in defensive back Kaden Krough and kicker Nathan Shinoda. Two additional players earned second team honors with Ben Beglinger and Tanner Simonson a selection at wide receiver and linebacker, respectively.
Cole Valley had both the conference player of the year and the conference defensive player of the year in 2022 and the Chargers will have to replace both. Quarterback/linebacker Dalton Kranz and linebacker Sam Sherman are gone along with first team all-conference running back Ryan Golenor. Two additional first-team honorees in Cade Callison and Ian Hamby have also graduated.
Four of five starters on the offensive line will need replacing as Stanton Austin, Cade Callison, Ian Hamby, and Christian Metzger are gone. How Cole Valley fills in these holes up front will be a significant factor in how successful the Chargers are in the 2023 campaign.
The offense was run heavy last year, but will seek to be more balanced this season. Moreno talks about offensive expectations as he states, “We will have a freshman starting QB (Cash Cahill), but don’t let his youth fool you. The kid can play ball and we’re really excited to have him take the reins as he’s a natural leader.”
He adds, “We have two big receivers in Ben Beglinger (who I think is the best wide receiver in the league) and sophomore Kaden Krogh, who will be great targets for our young QB. I really like what we have done getting the tight end more involved this summer. Sophomore Nathan Pautav has grown tremendously over the summer and has done some good things for us thus far.”
As for replacing Golenor in the backfield, Moreno says, “We still want to establish a run game, and we’ll have a running back by committee approach this season.”
Since the offensive line will be inexperienced with four new players playing the position, Moreno emphasizes the importance of being more balanced as he adds, “We were pretty run heavy last year as we had a veteran offensive line. We won’t have that luxury this year, so we’ll need to be able to pass the ball. So, we’re hoping to have a more balanced attack.”
The defense lost numerous key players, but Moreno likes what he has seen from his players over the summer stepping into their new roles. “We’re going to find that out real soon in our Week 0 game,” he says. “We have a lot of starting spots to fill from last year's team. The summer has been great in terms of seeing players step up into their new role. It will be a scrappy defense. I saw a lot of good things this summer in each position unit.”
There are two big areas that the Charger defense will look to improve on. These are limiting big plays and producing more takeaways. The team has been working hard to improve in these areas over the summer and Moreno is excited to see this hard work pay off on the field in the new season.
Moreno is excited to see how the youth on the Cole Valley roster steps up to fulfill their new roles. “We have a lot of youth in this year’s team, but they have all stepped up big this summer,” he says. “Though our team will have a lot of new starters this year, they are a group that has a lot of energy and confidence. The team’s chemistry as a whole has been really positive. A lot of people are sleeping on these guys because of who we lost from last year's team, but these boys are going to surprise some people.”
There are numerous factors that Moreno believes will be crucial to Cole Valley’s success in 2023. “Like any team in the 2A, staying healthy is going to be key without much depth,” Moreno explains. “If we can get the passing game going and get the ball in the hands of a few of our big receivers, it will help us take pressure off the O-Line and the run game. The offensive line is coming together and have grown a lot over the summer. If we can keep that up and get the run game going, I think we can have a very balanced offense and move the ball.”
Additionally, Moreno is high on his defense. “We like the guys we have defensively as well. Where we lack in size, we replace with energy and tenacity and that will get the job done for us. We’re putting a lot of focus and all 11 guys swarming to the ball and being a sound tackling team,” Moreno says.
Cole Valley will play a Week Zero game when it welcomes Wendell to town to open the season. The Chargers then play three of their next four games against 3A opponents as they host Payette and travel to Parma and Weiser. A neutral site showdown with Salmon to be played at Butte County in Arco is sandwiched in between these challenging dates.
The home/road split in conference sees road trips to Melba and New Plymouth and home dates with Nampa Christian and Marsing. Every game will matter in what is expected to be a thrilling conference race and Moreno points to Marsing as a team that could shock people and come out with the conference crown. “They bring back pretty much their entire team. If they can stay healthy, they are going to give teams trouble. They are limited in terms of numbers, but they have some good size and some solid athletes.” Moreno said of the Huskies.
The Chargers made strides in 2022 and despite losing key players that would suggest a step back, Moreno believes this team can take a big leap forward in 2023. Cole Valley has a grand opportunity ahead of it to capture a conference crown and the Chargers will leave everything on the field as they look to make this dream a reality.