Written by: Will Hoenike
Veteran head coach Lane Kirkland rarely gets to play the underdog card at Carey.
Since 2006, his Panther team has won five state championships. It has played in each of the past five 1A Division 2 state title games and reached the classification’s semifinals eight consecutive years.
What has changed?
Carey has bumped up a classification and will be playing 1A Division 1 football this fall in the uber-competitive Snake River Conference, whose teams have won five of the past seven state titles in the Division 1 classification, including the Oakley Hornets, who have won back-to-back state titles.
So, for the first time in many years, people are wondering what Carey can do.
“Our practice schedule reads, ‘Defy the Odds,” Kirkland said. “And that’s what we intend on doing.”
Within football circles, the odds of Carey sneaking up on anyone are remote. The Panthers won 11 games last season with its only loss coming in the state title game by six points against Kendrick. From that team, three linemen return. A pair of tight-end/defensive-back starters return. An all-conference linebacker returns. An all-state kicker is back.
And then there’s Connor Simpson. The pint-sized running back was named the 1A Division 2 Idaho Player of the Year in 2021 after rushing for nearly 2,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns on offense while racking up nearly 90 tackles on defense. The 5-foot-3 dynamo was nearly impossible to stop.
“We have seven starters returning from last year,” Kirkland said. “We have a lot of quickness and speed in this group and a stout offensive line.”
Senior center Teegan Kirkland received all-conference honors as a junior, as did guard Franco Ocampo. Another senior, BJ Brown, also returns in the trenches for the Panthers. So it’s not hard to envision Simpson having another banner year running the football.
The team also features Colton Larna at running back as well as Riley Morey and Carsn Perkes at tight end on offense.
“We plan on using the whole field a lot more this year, with a little more balanced offense than in previous seasons,” Kirkland continued. “I think our playmaking and creativity are going to really excel as we go through the season.”
The trigger man under center for Carey will be sophomore Preston Wood, who will have plenty of weapons around him to help ease into the starting role for one of the state’s premier programs – at any level.
Defensively, Larna and junior linebacker Nik Versis lead the way with Simpson, Perkes, and Morey filling critical roles. While the offense gets a lot of the headlines, the Panther defense held five of 12 opponents to six points or less last season.
“We have six starters back on the field on defense,” Kirkland said. “We should have a steady rotation of fresh guys to use on defense to stay on the attack. We have always put good pressure on the quarterback and defended the pass pretty well.”
While the jump in classification represents a jump in overall competition for the Panthers, it’s not as though they’ve been playing bug splatter for the past decade. Over the past three seasons, Carey has played seven games with larger-classification teams. It won all seven, including a victory over 4A Wood River in 2020. Dating back to 2012, the Panthers have not lost a game against a 1A Division 1 opponent.
Not to mention, in order to play in five consecutive state championship games, you have to routinely play (and beat) the top teams in your classification. Which they have done as well as anyone – in any classification in Idaho – for many, many years.
But Kirkland knows the hill gets steeper, starting now.
“We understand that we will have to prepare, coach, and train to be competitive and ready,” Kirkland said. “We understand that we will need to be stronger, smarter, and hungrier than ever before. We have a great group of seniors and some good reserves to begin our new venture in D1 ball.”
Carey gets three of the classification’s titans – Butte County, Oakley, and Raft River – at home this season. Those games will certainly be measuring sticks for Carey, but a lot of eyes across the state will be on the Panthers this season to see how quickly they can acclimate to the Division 1 classification. It will be a challenge, but Kirkland and the Panthers appear well-armed to compete in the Snake River Conference.