Written by: Will Hoenike
The Castleford Wolves are coming off of a campaign where the team hung in the playoff race until late in the season despite an exceedingly young roster. Of the 18 players listed on Brian Lowry’s 2023 roster, eleven were freshmen.
So, entering 2024, the Wolves begin the transition to “young but experienced” as they look to return to the 1A (formerly 1A Division 2) state playoffs.
Lowry, entering his eighth season as the program’s head coach, and his staff have to replace a pair of first team All-State performers on defense – lineman Cache Keetch and defensive back Jayme Ramos. The two combined for more than 180 tackles with Keetch notching 16 sacks and Ramos intercepting seven passes. Such production and leadership will be difficult to replace but a number of young players gained important experience playing alongside Keetch and Ramos last fall.
Sophomore Bryan Vega, an All-Conference defensive lineman as a freshman, will move into a key role along the offensive and defensive fronts this season. Fellow sophomores Nicholas Bokma and Ethan Dearden could be in a position to join him. On offense, that group will pave the way for another sophomore, Eric Lemus, who was a second team All-Conference running back last fall as a freshman. Riggin Keetch and Conner Parish should also fill important roles on both sides of the ball for Castleford this fall.
The overall offensive numbers don’t look great – an average of 24.5 points per game – but they were influenced somewhat by a three-game stretch in late September and early October where the Wolves scored a total of 28 points against three teams that went on to qualify for the state playoffs. The team did put up 42 points in a win over North Gem and 52 in a win over Shoshone so they did have success moving the ball at times in 2023. A more consistent attack should help the team be in contention for a return to the playoffs.
The Sawtooth Conference will look a little bit different in 2024. Hagerman has moved up to the 2A (formerly 1A Division 1) classification while Carey, a longtime juggernaut program, will come back to the Sawtooth this fall. The conference will also add Shoshone and Richfield as full members this fall.
The Wolves will have to navigate a difficult mid-season stretch where they face Carey (road), Dietrich (home), and Camas County (road) in a four-week stretch before closing the regular season out with a game at Richfield on October 18 and a home contest against Hansen on October 25.