Written by: Will Hoenike
Jared Young enters his 10th season as the head football coach at Wallace High School amid much optimism as his program returns a strong, experienced offensive and defensive line and will also add a highly-skilled freshman quarterback this fall.
The Miners are coming off a three-win season but have an opportunity to charge to the front of the line in 2024.
The 1A (formerly 1A Division 2) North Star League has re-shaped going into this fall. Defending league champion Mullan-St. Regis, a cooperative agreement that crosses state lines, will operate out of St. Regis (Montana) this fall and Kootenai will not field a varsity football team. The North Star also welcomes a new team – Coeur du Christ Academy from Coeur d’Alene.
Young and his assistants are excited about the talent and depth along the front line, led by senior C/NG Garrett Clark. He’ll be flanked by sophomore guards Reece Williams and Rossi Kosarick and the team also has senior Cameron Flood to fill key roles as well. That line will open the way for senior Julian Davis, one of the top returning two-way players in the 1A classification, along with running backs Wyatt Ritchey (senior) and Alex Grubbs (junior).
But much of the talk around Wallace this fall centers around freshman quarterback Cooper Miller.
“Cooper Miller is a seasoned freshman quarterback,” Young said. “I know it’s strange to say but he has the speed, size and arm strength to match senior QB’s. He had a really good summer camp at Montana Tech for the last two years and should be ready to show leadership as well.”
Miller also shone over the summer at the first-ever Idaho Bowl, a state-wide competition where he was on the field with incoming freshmen from all levels in the Gem State, including players who will be attending some of the biggest high schools in the state.
“We will have a much-improved passing game led by Miller and Julian Davis, as well as Emmitt Myles at receiver,” Young said. “We have had a tradition of a strong run game, but we will have options this season which will be a great change of pace.”
Defensively, the team returns big-time playmakers in Flood and Williams at defensive end and Ritchey at linebacker to lead the way. The book-end defenders led the team in tackles-for-loss last season, Flood with 8.5 (four sacks) and Williams with 7.5 (two sacks) while Ritchey averaged over four tackles per game with an interception and a fumble recovery last season. The trio create a strong nucleus of returning defenders for the Miners.
Add Davis to the mix in the secondary – on top of his 1,106 all-purpose yards last fall, he averaged five tackles per game, intercepted a pass, forced two fumbles, and recovered a fumble – and you have the makings of a stout defense at all three levels.
“We have to play better pass defense and that starts with the pass rush,” Young said. “We need to beat blocks better and stick to our coverage assignments.”
The Miners open the season on August 23 at home with a non-conference game against Timberline of Weippe. The schedule sets up well for the Miners; they’ll close the season with three straight North Star games at home against Clark Fork (October 11), Coeur du Christ Academy (October 18) and Lakeside (October 25). A strong finish will likely mean a berth in the 1A state playoffs.
The team will play without All-North Star performer Henry Larson this fall. The sophomore injured his knee last winter during basketball season and will miss the football season. Young says he’s still a part of the team, but he won’t be able to appear in any games and is expected to be ready to compete for the school’s basketball program this winter.