Written by: Brandon Baney
The Declo Hornets have been one of Idaho’s pre-eminent 3A football programs over the past decade-plus. Declo has appeared in six state championship games over the past twelve seasons, winning four.
2023 was one of those years where Declo had to settle for second place. After defeating West Side in a hotly contested regular season battle, the Pirates exacted revenge in the title matchup with a 41-13 triumph.
Those squads will now be conference mates, as Declo and Wendell of District 4 are combining with West Side, Aberdeen, Soda Springs and Malad from District 5 to form the six-team South East Idaho Conference.
“We just missed the big goal last year and now we know that our seniors are hungry for another shot,” says first-year Declo coach Rhett Jones. “We proved last year what this team is capable of and we know what we can do.”
Jones assumes head coach duties for the first time in his 14 year career. He’s been an assistant in Sheridan, Montana, as well as at Wood River, Minico, and, in 2023, Declo.
Despite just one season as an assistant with the Hornets, Jones found himself in the right place at the right time when previous coach Josh Stewart took the head coaching job at Blackfoot High this past winter.
Now Jones is tasked with reloading for another run at the state championship game.
The job on offense will start up front with seniors Renan Loper and Joey Garrard. Both garnered All-Conference honors a season ago, and are joined on the line by senior Dodge Edgar and junior Kyle Bott.
That group will be tasked with paving the way for running backs Bode Brackenbury, Zane Snedaker and Dane Garrard in the Hornets’ Wing-T attack.
“It all starts with our physicality,” says Jones. “We want to be balanced and be able to get the ball to our playmakers in different ways.”
“We need to be more dynamic,” he adds.
To that end, senior wide receiver Gavin Rasmussen (a two-time All-State selection) is back, and aiming for another 1,000 yard season. He’ll be joined out wide by junior Landen Silcock, while former receiver Hayden Thaxton is making the switch to quarterback.
On the other side of the ball, things appear status quo this season for Declo’s defense.
“Our defensive line will have a big impact,” says Jones. “We want to be able to run different fronts and different coverages.”
Loper, Joey Garrard, Edgar and Bott will all play up front. Brackenbury and sophomores Dane Garrard and Dacx Garrard will anchor the linebackers. Rasmussen, Thaxton, Snedaker and Silcock will lead the secondary.
With most players going both ways, Declo will once again have to rely on its grit and toughness to grind out wins. Good thing the Hornets are up the challenge.
“If I could pick three words to be our X-factors this year, they would be ‘execution’, ‘physicality’, and ‘determination’,” Jones concludes.