Written by: Will Hoenike
All first-year head coaches should be as lucky as Shane Remer. After six years as an assistant at Watersprings School, he ascends to the top spot and what is there waiting for him?
One of the most dynamic players in the 1A Division 2 classification in Jrew Plocher.
As a junior, Plocher rushed for nearly 1,700 yards while passing for more than 1,400 more as the team’s quarterback. He tossed 16 scoring passes while rushing in 13 more and returning four kickoffs for touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, he intercepted four passes, returning one for a score, while averaging over 11 tackles per game for the Warriors.
“Jrew Plocher will be used in more versatile roles than in the past,” Remer said. “He is too great of a player to limit to one position.”
More roles? Is he going to run the scoreboard and sell hot dogs as well?
All kidding aside, any coach would love to have a player as talented and productive as Plocher. And the now-senior will have help.
Senior Peyton West returns after earning all-conference recognition for his play at running back. He’ll double as the team’s middle linebacker. Playing in front of him on both sides of the ball, center on offense and defensive end on the other side of the ball, is junior Landyn Remer. That group will be joined by another versatile piece, all-purpose junior Luke Mathison.
“I am excited to see the leadership in Jrew Plocher really take shape with Mathison and (Landyn) Remer coming alongside him,” the head coach noted. “Toward the end of the season last year, it was the underclassmen that seemed to be the fire-lighters.”
The Warriors finished 1-2 in Rocky Mountain Conference play in 2021, but still earned a spot in the 1A Division 2 playoffs. The team’s reward? Eventual semi-finalist Castleford, which overwhelmed Watersprings to advance to the next round of postseason play. It was one of the few times all season where the Watersprings offense was held in check, but the team’s defense had some struggles against the top teams on its schedule. Overall, Watersprings allowed an average of over 50 points per game.
“With Plocher, West, Mathison, and Remer, a good foundation is set at defensive end, linebacker, and safety,” Remer said. “(We will) try to create a more aggressive approach which will require the coaches to really study our players’ strengths. This is where the versatility will be key for us.”
As is often the case in eastern Idaho, the 8-man teams in Division 2 are often forced to play up a classification during the non-conference portion of their schedules. That happens for Watersprings in 2022 as, in three consecutive games, the Warriors will face 1A Division 1 foes Butte County, Grace, and Challis. On one hand, it will provide a series of good tests for the Watersprings team, which has postseason aspirations. On the other hand, depth is often a critical factor for 8-man football teams and injuries can alter the trajectory of a season really quickly. It’s a challenge that the Warrior coaches relish.
“One might think the number of players,” Remer said of potential X-factors to his team’s success this fall. “But the key will be for the coaching staff to put the players we do have in the most effective positions early in the season.”