Written by: Will Hoenike
Sam Thorngren is the dean of 2A (formerly 1A Division 1) head coaches, having been at the helm of the Butte County Pirates’ program for nearly two decades. Going into his 18th season in Arco, few will understand the following quite the same as he will.
1. It’s not easy to overcome the graduation of nine seniors off of an 8-man football team.
2. The depth that comes with a varsity roster of over 30 players cannot be overestimated.
For the 2024 Pirates, the two truths feed off each other. Butte County won the classification’s state championship game last season, graduated the classification’s state player of the year (Brody Westergard) and a two-way all-state performer (OL/LB Braxton Gamett), and it also graduated the team’s rallying point – a teammate who nearly died early in the season (Dillon Waymire).
So how does the program adapt and continue to excel?
“Last year we had a sense of purpose,” Thorngren said. “If we maintain a team first mindset and culture we will be a force to be reckoned with. We can’t get caught up chasing personal glory and stats.”
The depth is why Thorngren can be optimistic about this team’s on-field potential. On offense, he returns his starting quarterback and two running backs who each ran for more than 800 yards along with an all-conference lineman and receiver. That’s five of the eight spots in good hands when the Pirates have the football.
“Keaton Archibald runs our option schemes to perfection,” Thorngren said of his junior signal-caller. “He is an outstanding runner and dependable passer who makes great decisions.”
He can hand the ball to Razor Duke or Rawsom Twitchell, either of whom can take over a game with their running ability. Koden Krosch, Braxtyn Parsons, and McCoy Jensen all provide good targets when the team goes to the air. However, ultimately, the success of the offense may hinge on a group of players whose names do not show up in the box score.
“Much of our success will depend on young linemen, Braxten Hymas, Kayson Parsons, Bracken Powell, and Taine Hollist,” Thorngren said. “They are talented, they need to be as reliable at getting into their run fits as last year’s group proved to be.”
Those players will slide in alongside senior center Charlie Bragg to pave the way for an offense that was only held under 40 points one time in 12 games last season.
Bragg will also be in the middle of a defense that held nine of 12 teams under 30 points, which is a strong effort in 8-man football. He’ll line up at nose guard with many of the same players lining up around him at defensive end. Archibald and Krosch both earned all-conference accolades at defensive back. The question mark could be linebacker, where the team lost a lot of experience and production from last season’s team. Jensen, a junior, and sophomore Teagan Babcock could help fill those roles for the Pirates.
“Our biggest concern is that we must force turnovers,” Thorngren pointed out. “That’s where games are won and lost in 8-man football.”
Butte County’s conference, the High Desert, enters 2024 as a two-team league – the Pirates and rival Grace. The conference’s third team, Challis, petitioned to play in the smaller 1A classification this year while it rebuilds its program. Both Butte County and Grace reached the state semifinals last season and both return many key players, which should lead to a compelling season for the two programs in District 5/6.
“Both teams lost a lot of seniors, but I think both of us have some talented young players that are excited to step up and perform,” Thorngren said. “Grace coach James Newby does a great job of developing his team every season.”
With just one conference game – in Arco in the final game of the regular season, October 25 – both teams have time to sort some things out. It also means both teams will face tough non-conference schedules. The Pirates open with a meet-in-the-middle game against Logos of District 2’s Whitepine League in Middleton on August 23. They’ll also face Valley, Murtaugh, Carey, Raft River, and Hagerman before the High Desert game against Grace.