Written by: Brandon Baney
Perhaps to everyone except the good folks in Buhl, the Indians’ success on the gridiron in 2022 came as a surprise.
After finishing 3-6 in 2021, veteran coach Allyn Reynolds engineered a complete turnaround, taking Buhl to a 9-2 mark and a trip to the Class 3A quarterfinals. Among the highlights was a perfect 4-0 record against Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference members, including a 34-29 thriller over defending league champ Kimberly.
Buhl bullied opponents last year behind the bruising running of Jayce Bower, an All-State and All-Conference performer. But Bower departed via graduation, as did the Indians’ entire offensive line.
So it’s only natural that when coach Reynolds was asked who might contribute to this year’s success, his answer was, “I’m not sure yet. We’re very young.”
The cupboard isn’t totally bare, though. Senior Bowen Brunson is expected to take Bowers’ place in the backfield, and Reynolds says, “We should be a better throwing team this year.” That’s because senior receivers Kyler Kelly and Jackson Allen, plus senior tight end Kaiden Villaro, all return to bolster the Buhl passing attack.
As for the rushing game, senior Oakley Tennant will factor heavily into Buhl’s offensive line plans. Beyond that? “The x-factor to our season will be putting together an offensive line that can establish a running game,” Reynolds said. In other words, check back in later.
Avoiding the injury bug will be critical to Buhl’s success this year, as all of the aforementioned players will also be utilized on defense. Kelly, Brunson and Allen will all play in the secondary, while Villaro is a promising defensive end. Riley Brunson is expected to be Buhl’s top linebacker. Overall, Reynolds says, “Defensively, we have to stop the run game of our opponents and get off the field on third down.”
There’s no denying that Buhl’s path to a repeat SCIC title will be difficult. The element of surprise is gone, and squads like Kimberly, Wood River and Filer all got better in the offseason. Not to mention the the learning curve for a younger group of players.
But Reynolds wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’m excited to see if our younger players, with not a great deal of playing time, can step up and fill the shoes of all of our seniors we lost last season,” he said.