Written by: Keller Sherman
Melba’s 2022 campaign came to a premature end in the quarterfinals of the playoffs after being knocked out by Aberdeen. It spoiled an 8-1 regular season, with their only defeat coming on the road at North Fremont. Melba enters 2023 with a chip on their shoulder looking to show it can contend for a state title in a classification that has historically been dominated by teams from Eastern Idaho. Cory Dickard returns for a second stint as head coach of the Mustangs after having previously served in the role from 2007-2011.
Noah West-Barranco, Evan Michealson, Trevor Rhodes, Chade Franklin, Nate Wellington, and Eli Doughty are notable returning players for the Mustangs. Of these players, three received all-conference honors. Rhoades was a first team selection on offensive line and honorable mention on defensive line. Michaelson received second team honors on offensive line and at linebacker. West-Barranco was named to the first team at wide receiver at both the conference and state level.
There will be some big holes to fill on the roster in 2023. First team all conference quarterback Cache Beus transferred to Skyview to play his senior season with the Hawks. Moreover, conference co-offensive player of the year Kaden Dayley departed and Gabe Shaffer is also gone. These two players received second team all state honors at defensive back and running back respectively with both also on the honor roll for first team all conference. The Mustangs had another second team all state defensive back graduate in McKoy Richardson who was also named to first team all conference. Perhaps the biggest departure of them all is offensive lineman Cody Dickard. The first team all conference and all state selection will play at the collegiate level at Montana Tech.
The Mustangs will miss the services of numerous other all conference selections. Brenton Overall, Manny Zepata, Vicente Acosta, and Landon Stewart round out a talented class of 2023 for Melba.
The good news is that even with several notable departures from the 2022 team, there are several incoming players that should step up and make an immediate impact. Rylan Frank and Cutter Beus provide two great options at quarterback. Joel Helm, Brendan Svetich, Daniel McPherson, Korey Magdellano, Yandell Ortiz, Justin Anderson, Sylvan Spence, Remington Sessions, and Issac Orias will be key additions to various positions on both sides of the ball.
On offense, Melba will utilize a wing-t scheme. Dickard talks about what to expect from the Mustang offense as he states, “We will continue to run the wing-t offense. This group of kids has run this offesne the past six years and know it well. Even though we have lost a lot of seniors, we return a group of kids who have won the conference title the past two years at the J.V. level.”
6'8 " Cutter Beus will lead the Melba offense at quarterback along with Rylan Frank, who will double as a running back as well. “This will give us a running and throwing threat,” according to coach Dickard. Beus is the cousin of former starter Cache Beus, and Dickard says, “Cutter has really impressed me this summer at the QB position. He has sat out the last two seasons, and will only get better the more he understands the offense.”
Additionally, “Cutter will rotate to receiver when Rylan is at QB to be paired with 6'3" Noah West Baranco, who is receiving interest from several Division 1 schools,” according to Coach Dickard. “We will also return most of the o-line minus four-year starting center Cory Dickard.”
Although Melba’s entire group of running backs are new to the varsity level, coach Dickard is optimistic. “It will be fun to watch them step up as they have been waiting in the shadows of Kaden Dayley, Gabe Shaffer, and Carlos Counga.”
“Nate Wellington is a three year tight end who I expect to have a breakout year,” Dickard added.
The linebacker and defensive back positions are where Melba’s defense excels. “Evan Michaelson will lead the linebacker core with Noah West playing at the safety position,” Dickard said. The secondary was a liability for the Mustang defense last season and the team will look to improve here.
Even with the departure of several seniors, Dickard sees plenty of reason to believe that the Mustangs can be even better than they were in 2022 thanks to a pair of strong leaders. “Noah West-Baranco will become a very large part of our offense. A deep threat and also great feet and speed for the screen game,” Dickard said. “Evan Michaelson will be the leader on defense. Evan is a very physical young man.”
Dickard also expects the Mustangs to be playing the role of underdog throughout the season which could lead to opponents underestimating them. “I believe we will be overlooked by teams as they have seen the large senior class we lost last season,” Dickard explained. “But many of the players had substantial varsity time last season and now get to step up and be the starter.”
Melba’s schedule gives the Mustangs a great opportunity to get off to a 3-0 start. While it does open with two long road trips to Salmon and Orofino in which Melba will spend over 21 hours combined on the bus for both trips, the Mustangs should be able to handle business against the Savages and Maniacs. The home opener is set for September 7th with a visit from a Gooding team that has taken a step back since longtime Senator great Cameron Andersen left before last season.
After an open week, Melba goes on the road to Vale, Oregon to take on the Vikings. The Vikings have historically performed well in Oregon and will look for revenge after the Mustangs won a 55-12 rout when the two teams met in Melba last season. The Mustangs then close out the month of September with their conference opener against Cole Valley Christian for Homecoming. After a road date at Marsing followed by New Plymouth at home for senior night, the conference title will likely be on the line when Melba travels to Nampa Christian for the regular season finale.
Nampa Christian is seen by many as the favorite in the 2A Western Idaho Conference, but Melba is right there with the Trojans in that race. There is still experience aplenty on the Melba roster and the pieces are there for the Mustangs to not only win a conference title, but make a deeper playoff run than they did last season.