Written by: Brandon Baney
When asked about his team’s greatest X-factor ahead of the season, Cole Valley Christian head coach Mark Moreno had a one word answer: “Grit.”
The Chargers have moved up a level in 2024. Goodbye, Class 3A Western Idaho Conference. Hello, Class 4A Snake River Valley Conference, home to four playoff teams (Homedale, Weiser, McCall-Donnelly, and Fruitland) a season ago.
“The SRV is the toughest 4A football conference in the state, top to bottom,” Moreno explains. “We have to be willing to go punch-for-punch with these guys week in and week out.”
“We have the boys to do it,” he emphasizes. “We have the boys to compete.”
Cole Valley Christian’s strength lies in the trenches. Seniors Ben King, Nate Byrne and Aiden Peterson will lead the way on the offensive line.
“Our ground game is going to be key. It’s where we return the experience and we feel really good about this group,” says Moreno. “We don’t necessarily have one player who is going to stand out, but collectively we’ll be a well-balanced group of boys that will share the workload in both running and passing game.”
Senior Dawson Leach takes the reins at quarterback. He’ll throw to junior receivers Tristan Horton and Noah White, along with junior Brady Sautabin at tight end. Junior Aiden Shanks will factor in at running back, and sophomore Ethan Minegar will line up all over the field on offense.
All of the aforementioned players will also chip in on defense.
“Our greatest strength is our team speed,” says Moreno. “We are not going to blow anyone out of the water with our size, but we will have one of the faster defenses in the league. We’ll be able to swarm to the ball and make some plays/turnovers.”
King and Peterson will hold down the fort on the interior of the defensive line, while Minegar, Horton and Sautabin will play defensive end. Byrne and White will lead the linebackers, while Leach will line up at strong safety.
Overall, Cole Valley Christian is diving into the deep end of the pool with a group of less experienced swimmers. But what the Chargers lack in experience, they more than make up for with enthusiasm.
“We have a group of boys that don’t have a lot of varsity experience, but they’ve been eager to learn and grow which has allowed them to have a big summer,” says Moreno. “This is a group that is close chemistry-wise, as they have all committed to the process of building a program that can be competitive year-in and year-out. These guys know that making the jump to the SRV is going to be tough, but they look forward to the challenge. I am excited to see them compete.”