Written by: Will Hoenike
If you want to know how much a coaching staff can mean to a team – and the team’s perception – in Idaho, consider the Prairie Pirates. Ryan Hasselstrom returns to the sideline in Cottonwood after a year away and it has instantly buoyed expectations. Just ask other coaches around the 2A (formerly 1A Division 1) Whitepine League.
Potlatch’s Ryan Ball says the return of Hasselstrom could lead to Prairie surprising some people on the field. Kendrick’s Zane Hobart singled out Hasselstrom as “one of the best 8-man coaches in the state.” Clearwater Valley’s Allen Hutchens went even farther.
“I will say this, with Prairie having Hasselstrom back, they are instantly competing for a league title,” Hutchens asserted.
Moral of the story: the Pirates won’t be sneaking up on anyone around the Whitepine this fall.
It is understandable why expectations are high with Hasselstrom stepping back in for T.T. Cain, who led the Pirates to a 5-3 record last season. During Hasselstrom’s first tenure, Prairie won three state championships, finished runner-up twice, and reached the state semifinals four other times. But the team has failed to make the postseason each of the past two seasons, so there is work to be done.
“I’m most excited about the overall excitement of the players. We had a solid team camp this summer and the players are eager to succeed,” Hasselstrom said. “We have a ton of work to do but I think the young players and the experienced guys will gel together well this season.”
The Pirates return a pair of starters along the offensive and defensive fronts in seniors Carter Shears and Jake Quintal. That should pay big dividends on both sides but especially on offense where Prairie returns leading rusher Dylan Uhlenkott. The senior ran for over 1,000 yards last fall and tied for the team lead with nine rushing touchdowns, continuing the trend of marquee running backs at Prairie along with prominent Pirate alums like Brody Hasselstrom, Cole Martin, Hunter McWilliams, and Lucas Wemhoff. The ability to run the ball, especially early in the season, will ease the transition from versatile quarterback Noah Behler (graduated) to senior Briggs Rambo and junior Levi McElroy under center.
“Sustaining drives and taking care of the ball are always important,” Hasselstrom said. “We need to work on coming together as a team and each player doing their part to succeed.”
Defensively, the Pirate ship sprung some leaks in the team’s three losses last season, surrendering an average of 55 points per game in those losses. Quintal and Shears will anchor the defensive line along with senior Matt Wemhoff in front of junior linebackers Gehring and Chris Schumacher. Wemhoff led the team with nine sacks last fall and Schumacher led the squad with an average of nearly ten tackles per game. A key to improved overall results on defense for Prairie this fall could be very simple: just keep playing football.
“I think players need to learn their job and trust in their teammates. Playing hard for 4 full quarters and not taking any plays off,” Hasselstrom said. “We need to work on building some confidence back and playing like we know we can play.”
As usual, the Whitepine League in District 2 is deep and talented, especially with the addition of 3-time 1A Division 2 (now 1A) state champion Kendrick to the league. Prairie will host the powerful Tigers in the final week of the regular season (October 25) in a game that could have significant postseason implications. But first, the Pirates will have to survive a difficult non-conference “meet-in-the-middle” game against Valley of District 4 at Fruitland High School, along with difficult league games against the likes of Logos, Lapwai, Potlatch, and Kamiah, among others. With a daunting schedule ahead of his team, Hasselstom knows what his team needs to do to be in the mix at the end.
“Commitment to the common goals of the team and working with some inexperience guys to do the best we can do,” he explained. “Doing things the ‘Pirate Way’ will hopefully get us back in the hunt during the season.”