Written by: Brandon Baney
South Fremont's 2021 season could be compared to an airplane that experiences turbulence.
The takeoff was smooth, with a season-opening win over District 1 champion Timberlake followed by dominant wins over 2A foes Salmon and Aberdeen.
Then the Cougars hit their first pocket of rough air. A 3-0 start to the year gave way to a five-game losing streak to Firth, Snake River, Marsh Valley, Sugar-Salem and Teton.
Four of those five losses were close affairs, with a number of turnovers and mistakes at inopportune times costing South Fremont.
Staring down a 3-5 record, the Cougars stuck the landing in their first round playoff game against Kellogg in a 35-30 win.
After so many tight games had ended in defeat, the win over Kellogg signaled that the Cougars could win a close battle, as well.
But South Fremont's season ended a week later in the quarterfinals at Homedale. The Trojans won 35-10 and ended South Fremont's year at 4-6 overall.
South Fremont will be looking for a new identity in 2022. All-State quarterback and defensive back Kaimen Peebles has graduated, as well as lineman T-Ross Rigby, and wide receivers Easton Kerbs and Kooper Hurt.
All we described by tenth-year head coach Chad Hill as leaders of the team. With Peebles at the helm of the South Fremont offense the last two seasons, the Cougars featured a wide open passing attack. This year, though, South Fremont's strengths could come from its rushing game.
"We have a lot of quality running backs this year in Hunter Hobbs, Hadley Hill and Raiden Whitmore," said Hill. "We also have tight ends Peycen Yancey and Kolby Clark this year, and we are going to use them a lot in our offense."
That stable of running backs will run behind all-conference linemen Carter Vining, Conner Pehl and Neilson Glascock.
A lot of those same players will also start on defense. "We have a lot of linebackers that will anchor our defense this year," Hill said. "And our defensive line looks pretty stout."
Hobbs, Max Clark, Kolby Clark and Whitmore will all play linebacker for South Fremont. The defensive line will be led by Pehl, Glascock, Jose Morillon and Hadley Hill.
One area of weakness for South Fremont this year will be its depth. "With so few numbers, we need to stay healthy and get a few guys back from injury this summer," said Hill.
With fewer players to work with, South Fremont will have to not only stay healthy, but also stay mentally sharp. At times that focus waned in 2021, as evidenced by all of the excruciating losses in tight games.
"Getting all of the pieces of the puzzle to fit in the right spots (will be important)," said Hill. "We don't have a lot of bodies this year, so our guys have to know multiple positions and have to be able to understand the whole picture. I think this will help our football IQ and understanding our schemes better."