1ADI Snake River Conference Preview
Written by Meredith Spelbring
Players to Watch
Collin Holloway (Lighthouse Christian)
Ryan Spaeth (Raft River)
Bodee Spencer (Raft River)
Corbin Bedke, (Oakley)
Robert Wybenga (Oakley)
The Snake River Conference lost a team but gained a few new members ready for the 2020 season.
Joining the conference this season is Lighthouse Christian and Murtaugh High School. With two new teams in the conference, Snake River lost Valley High School.
The Lighthouse Christian Lions come to 1ADI Snake River from 1ADII Sawtooth Conference. The Lions finished at the top of the leaderboard in the Sawtooth Conference, going 10-0 in the conference and 19-6 overall.
The Murtaugh High School Devils, led by Matt Miller, also join Snake River from Sawtooth Conference after finishing the 2019 season with a 4-4 conference and 14-11 overall season record.
The Oakley High School Hornets come into this year after losing some players to graduation, but return plenty of top-caliber athletes. Returning for the Hornets is Snake River All-Conference honorable mentions Jace Robinson and Payton Beck, 2nd Team
All-Conference Corbin Bedke and First Team All-Conference guard Robert Wybenga. Head coach Jeff Bedke said he also expects guard and post Porter Pickett and post Daniel Gonzalez to come in and give the team a boost.
After a season where the team played a consistently strong defense, Bedke said he hopes the team will keep it up this year while improving ball handling on both offense and defense.
The Raft River Trojans are new to Snake River play, but come in with enough returning athletes to give them a boost. Head coach Jeff Davenport said the team comes into the year with eight returners.
While the players are not new to the team, Davenport said a lot of this year’s coaches are.
“Our entire coaching staff is new this year,” he said. “Some have prior experience at Raft River High School and bring winning experiences. Kenny played on the 1976 State Championship team. Travis has coached and taught the majority of our kids when they were younger. Jordan is new to coaching high school and brings a ton of enthusiasm and positive energy.”
After a season with successful execution on defense, Davenport said the team is working this season to take better care of the basketball and play more as a unit.
The Shoshone High School Chiefs, led by head coach Garr Ward, finished in the middle of the Snake River pack in 2019 with a 4-2 conference and 17-7 overall record.
The Glenns Ferry Pilots, lead by head coach Nate Jones, will look to build off of last season, where the team finished 1-6 in conference and 4-18 overall.