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NAMPA — For two decades, Wayne Dill coached Dietrich’s varsity boys basketball team and trumpeted his well-known mantra: “Be somebody.”
After Dietrich left no doubt that it was the class of 1A Saturday morning, cruising to a 58-36 victory over Challis in the state championship game, Dill’s son and current Dietrich coach, Slade, delivered a message to his players.
“Coach Slade told us that we can say we are somebody now,” Dietrich senior Connor Perkins said.
Dietrich (22-3) finished the season on an eight-game winning streak to claim its third title in program history and first since 2016.
After Dietrich lost to Carey in the state championship football game, Brody Torgerson wanted to make sure the Blue Devil didn’t suffer a similar fate on the court.
“There’s no amount of money, no amount effort you can give to take away that feeling of losing a state championship, knowing that you were right there and finishing short,” Torgerson said. “But we came out and we fought. We knew what we wanted and we had to come out and fight to get it.”
It was a special win in many ways for Slade, who replaced his father as head coach after he collapsed and passed away suddenly in the summer of 2023.
“Seeing what he developed at a small school and then seeing it pay off is rewarding for me because that legacy he left behind meant something for the kids,” Slade said. “They took it and ran with it.”
Challis (16-12), which pulled off two upsets as the No. 6 seed to advance to the finals for the first time since 2014, looked like it might be primed for one more big victory early in the game.
The Vikings hung tough in the first quarter, keeping the game within reach.
But when team leader Jacen Farr suffered a dislocated right knee, Challis started to struggle offensively.
Farr went to the bench and worked with medical staff to jam his knee back into place before re-entering the game a few minutes later. But Farr never was the same.
“It was definitely in the back of my mind,” said Farr, who had 11 points and six rebounds for the Vikings. “I was in pain the whole time, but I knew I couldn’t let my team down.”
Without Farr, the Blue Devils had their way, outscoring Challis 20-5 in building a 32-13 halftime lead.
And it was more of the same in the third quarter as Dietrich pushed its lead to 49-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Dietrich, which led 1A in points per game with 69.5, were held well below their average, but it didn’t matter. The Blue Devils cleaned up on the glass, outrebounding Challis 51-37.
Torgerson, the IdahoSports player of the game, registered a double-double to lead Dietrich, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, game highs in both categories. Chase Norman added 10 points, while Perkins and Corrd Wells added nine each.
Brayden Ollar paced Challis with 12 points and eight rebounds. Teage Erickson chipped in 11 points.
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