Written by: Will Hoenike
It seems counter-intuitive to say that the 14th season of Jason Yearsley’s tenure at Garden Valley could be a bit of a defining season but, to him, it might be.
“This year is the first year that all the players will have come up through our current middle
school coaching staff (Skye Davis and his assistants),” Yearsley explained. “That means it has been four years since we built the current plan to build off the past coaches and make the program that is now playing out. It is exciting to see it come together and this year should be an exciting year of growth.”
That’s not to say the Wolverine program has been mired in mediocrity in the 1A (formerly 1A Division 2) Long Pin Conference. Seven wins in 2023, nine wins in 2022. The program was winless in 2015 but, in the eight seasons since then, Garden Valley has won 45 football games and reached the postseason six years in a row. It’s a good, successful program.
But it hasn’t punched through yet and made a deep run in November. Could 2024 be the year? Perhaps. There are positive signs that big things could be on the horizon.
The Wolverines return one of the top players in the Long Pin Conference – if not the entire 1A classification – in senior RB/LB Trevor Corn. Corn was voted 2nd Team All-State at the linebacker position by Idaho’s coaches following a junior season where he averaged 15 tackles per contest, adding four sacks, two fumbles caused, and three fumbles recovered. He also rushed for 853 yards and eleven scores on offense.
“We are a run and gun offense. We are deep at every position,” Yearsley said. “Trevor Corn looks to carry a lot of the load in the running game, with Kendrew Ward moving back there to take some pressure off.”
The team has a host of capable pass-catchers, led by junior receiver Maxon Yearsley and senior tight end Trustin Brown. The pair combined for 800 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. The question is who will be delivering the passes. Uber-talented Tacoma Kelly graduated last spring, opening the door for a new quarterback for Garden Valley. A pair of juniors, Tyler Rowland and Madix Miller, will compete for playing time this fall. Rowland got some snaps at the position last season, throwing a pair of scoring passes along the way.
The Wolverines were young up front last season and, while they’re still young, they’ve gained valuable experience. Ward, a sophomore, will likely play along the offensive front at times. Juniors Marshal Coley and Kegan Welsh will also see time there, aided by tight ends Brown and Rex Fackrell.
On defense, the team’s linebackers will be asked to be big playmakers with Corn, Welsh, Coley, and Ward, but Yearsley like what his team brings along the defensive line.
“We have a new hybrid defense that we are very excited about,” he said. “We have some serious
strength up front in (defensive ends) Trustin Brown and Rex Fackrell.”
The Wolverines went on the road to open the playoffs last fall to defeat Clark Fork before falling to eventual finalist Camas County in the quarterfinals. To make an even deeper push this fall, which would include a strong showing in the Long Pin Conference, continued growth along the front lines and good health to key playmakers will be important. Yearsley says the growth and strength isn’t only physical, but mental.
“We need to take it up a notch and compete with the best teams out there,” Yearsley explained. “To do that we need to change our attitudes, and leave excuses out of it.”
The team will take a challenging road trip early in the season, bussing to Bancroft on September 20 to face a physical North Gem team, before beginning conference play. The Wolverines face a critical three-week stretch in October where they travel to rivals Horseshoe Bend (October 4) and Council (October 11) before hosting Tri-Valley on October 18.