Written by: Keller Sherman
There is a new head coach in town after Kip Crofts has left Payette to pursue another ground-up rebuilding job at Caldwell. Crofts helped the Pirates be a middle of the pack team in a loaded 3A Snake River Valley Conference during his seven year tenure in Payette. Now his replacement, Kurt Taylor, comes in and will look to continue building on the foundation Crofts has set.
Tyler Feely, Avin Kaufman, and Mikey Meacham are key players coming back for Payette in 2023. Of these players, Feely and Kaufman were honorable mention all-conference. Payette quietly had one of the more talented rosters in the conference in 2022 as twelve Pirate seniors were named to the all-conference teams last season, but that production will have to be replaced.
Cody Pattee is an incoming sophomore that Taylor is excited to start in 2023. He describes Pattee as an “incredibly hard working kid who ranches all day, and then does whatever we need to do for football. Excited to see him grow.”
On offense, the strength is in speed and agility. Payette will be young with that youth especially being present at the quarterback position. Efficiency all around on offense will be the main area that the Pirates look to improve on in 2023.
Payette’s defense shines in the backfield. The defense will look to disguise and play with coverages to let the front seven get after the quarterback. Stopping the run and having down and situational awareness are areas where the defense will expect to be better.
As a new coach, Taylor is especially excited to establish the culture he will create within the Payette program. “I am most excited about getting our boys dialed into our core values, and building a family for the team,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of growth to make when it comes to the actual game of football. But, we have some amazing young men, and if they work hard, and begin to believe in themselves, we will turn the program around.”
Leadership and playing as a team will be the x factors to the Pirates finding success in 2023. “We play a very hard schedule with a very young team. We have to establish who we are, and build upon that. We must stay positive as well,” Taylor said.
Payette will open the 2023 campaign against Caldwell and former Pirate head coach Kip Crofts. After visiting the Cougars, Payette will host New Plymouth. That is the first of three straight games against 2A Western Idaho Conference competition with road games against Cole Valley Christian and Marsing on deck before conference play.
Conference play begins with the two big kahunas of the Snake River Valley Conference visiting Payette with Weiser coming to town followed by Homedale. After a quick trip over the Payette River to Fruitland, the Pirates host McCall-Donnelly for senior night before a road trip to Parma to wrap up the regular season.
Kip Crofts did a solid job in seven seasons at the Pirates’ helm. Now, as Kurt Taylor takes over, can he build on what Crofts started? Payette faces a challenging schedule, but Taylor believes his team is ready to step up to the challenge and surprise people that are not expecting much from the Pirates.