Written by: Will Hoenike
The Rimrock Raiders went into the final week of the 2023 regular season with a chance to earn their first playoff berth since 2014. The ball didn’t bounce their way on that day, meaning the drought is now nine years since a playoff game for the small school outside of Mountain Home.
However, head coach Sam Ward’s team only lost two players off of last year’s team and enters this season as a viable candidate to compete for a 2A (formerly 1A Division 1) Western Idaho Conference title. Uber-versatile and uber-talented senior Ronaldo Gomez returns as the team’s Swiss-army knife, capable of doing just about anything. On top of being an All-State selection as a punter, he has earned nine All-Conference selections so far in his high school career between quarterback, defensive back, kicker, and punter. As a junior, he totaled more than 2,000 yards of offense and had a hand in nearly 30 touchdowns.
Put another way, he’s among the most talented 8-man football players in Idaho. And there’s a good chance you’ve never seen him play.
He has weapons around him, including senior Kas Bachman and junior Kolton Jewett at the “skill” positions. Both players have shown the ability to make plays with the ball in their hands. Starting linemen Morgan Field and Carlos Escobedo also return. As a whole, the Rimrock offense averaged just under 30 points per game last fall. With so much experience returning, expect that number to go up in 2024.
Ward and his staff have a pair of talented incoming freshmen as well to work into the mix on both sides of the football, OL/DL Ulices Rivera and RB/LB Josh Jaramillo.
The team opens with four non-conference games, including home games against Glenns Ferry and Hansen from District 4, before opening conference play on September 27 against Western Idaho Conference favorite Notus at home. The program opened the season with 15 players so staying healthy will be crucial to its playoff hopes, meaning an October 3 bye week could be extremely well-timed. A week to rest and heal from the bumps and bruises of football before closing the season with three straight conference games – at Idaho City and then home for Wilder and Gem State/Centennial Baptist.