Written by: Lucas Gebhart
It’s year three of the Mike Altieri era at Boise High and the former Boise State linebacker is quite literally building a football program at one of Idaho’s oldest high schools.
Two years ago, Boise finished with under 30 players on its roster, a number unheard of for most 5A programs. But that number more than doubled in Altieri’s second season, and for the second year in a row, the Brave are looking to carry late season momentum into a new year. But once again, they will have to do it with a new quarterback.
Braiden Anderson, whose father is Stanford University’s defensive coordinator, has since graduated along with Colten Smith, an all-conference selection at safety and the leader of the Brave defense. Replacing Anderson at quarterback is junior Cooper Smith.
“He was a great leader at the quarterback position and tremendous student of the game,” Altieri said of Anderson.
Last summer, the Brave lost their starting quarterback, Jack Payne, to newcomer Owyhee and finished the 2021 season with two wins, including a late-season win over Owhyee to close out the year.
The win was Boise’s fifth in a two-year span – not bad when you consider this program won only one game in the three years prior to Altieri’s arrival. Despite losing both its offensive and defensive leader, he says Boise still returns some talent.
“I'm excited to watch our all conference players lead our team and our new players to have an instant impact,” he said.
The most notable returning pieces are on the defensive side of the ball. Jared Fuller is back at linebacker after picking up another first-team all-conference honor at the position for the second year in a row. Luke Britt is also back at corner.
“Luke Britt is one of the best corners in the state,” Altieri said. “Look for him to impact games from all over the field. Carson Neilson is another returning all-conference player who will make a lot of big plays for us.”
Offensively, the Brave will look to spread the ball around, mainly relying on the passing game. It’ll only help that Boise’s best pass catcher is back for another season in Caleb Allen. He was a second team all-conference pick last season and will be joined by new comers Braiden Rhodes at receiver and Joe Curtis at tight end.
“We have a great group of big athletic WRs,” Altieri said. “Look for Caleb, Braiden, Joe and others to have a big year.”
Boise opens the 2022 season with cross-town rival Timberline before traveling to 4A Ridgevue in the second week of the year.
They host arch rival Borah on October 7 before closing the year at Kuna.