Team Preview:
Written by: Will Hoenike
If the decade beginning in 2010 has been a pendulum for the Shoshone football program, it’s starting its upswing going in to the 2015 season.
The Indians won six games in 2010. Then five, then three. The pendulum hit bottom in 2013, when the team went 0-8.
Last season’s team went 1-7 and head coach Michael Perry sees reasons to hope that better days lie ahead for his program.
“In general, I do not see one impact player, but a group of players that want to improve from last year,” Perry said of his team. “We have eleven juniors and a few sophomores who will impact our team this year.”
Perry will lean on returning playmakers John Mabbutt and Jose Cintora to lead both offensively and defensively as the Indians look to continue to rebound after a couple of rough seasons.
“Our offensive goal is to spread the field and take advantage of space,” Perry told IdahoSports.com. “This is our third year running this offense and we are starting to see real progress made by the players, understanding the concept of the offense and exploiting defensive weaknesses.”
The Indians have struggled to score points the past two seasons, something Perry attributes more to consistency than a lack of play-making ability.
“We would make great gains and then make a mistake that would lead to a turnover or loss of downs,” he explained.
A big junior class gives Perry and his staff time to continue to build momentum, not only for this season but for future seasons. The players will continue to gain valuable playing experience and game repetitions as the Indians strive to keep climbing the 1A Division 1 Snake River Conference ladder.
“We are in a tough conference with some very good teams,” Perry said of the SRC, which includes Valley, Oakley and Raft River. “It will take us getting some early wins and our kids buying in that they can compete with anyone.”
A potential hurdle for Shoshone, however, is the fact that two of its first three games are against those teams.
After opening its season on the road at Richfield, the team faces Valley (home) and Raft River (away) before its annual homecoming game on September 25 against rival Hagerman.
“I think the Hagerman game is big for us this year,” Perry concluded. “It is our homecoming game and our kids really believe that they can compete and beat Hagerman this year.”
Playoffs don’t seem likely for Shoshone in 2015. But continued improvement this season sets the stage for Year 4 of the Perry era where, with another season of experience, growth and teaching, hopefully the pendulum keeps swinging up for the Indians.
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