Written by: Will Hoenike
It’s been a few years in the making but the 2022 Shoshone Indians plan to participate as a full varsity member this fall after playing recent seasons either as a varsity/junior varsity “hybrid” or a full junior-varsity squad.
Michael Perry, who has been Shoshone’s coach for nearly a decade now, has been slowly building his program to give it an opportunity to succeed long-term. The Indians are a 1A Division 1 school but petitioned the Idaho High School Activities Association to play down a classification, which was approved. So Shoshone will participate as a member of the 1A Division 2 Sawtooth Conference alongside Camas County, Castleford, Dietrich, Hagerman, and Hansen.
The Indians split last season between junior-varsity and varsity contests and won five of their seven games, including varsity wins over Mackay and Greenleaf Friends Academy. Perry’s roster listed 25 players in 2021 and only six of those were seniors.
The team did lose veteran playmakers Bryson Kerner and Austin Stowell among that senior class, along with talented, two-way lineman Carlos Larios. But the team does return talented senior Hudson Lucero.
The team was slated to open the season on August 26 at Mackay, but the Miners didn’t have the numbers to safely field their own team and have petitioned the Idaho High School Activities Association to play co-operatively with Challis High School. That means Shoshone’s first varsity game is scheduled for September 16 at home against Greenleaf Friends Academy. In the final game of the 2021 regular season, the Indians went on the road and topped the Grizzlies, 48-32, in an entertaining contest. They’ll be looking to start 2022 much the same way to build positive energy going into the teeth of a tough schedule that includes road games at Dietrich, at Hagerman, and at Castleford.