Years as Head Coach
4th Season

Previous Experience
Nampa Christian High School Asst 2015-2018
Parma High School Head Coach 2019
Nampa Christian Head Coach 2020-Present

Assistant Coaches
Mike Johnson
Chris Glenn
Lance Cheney
Chawit 'Sam' Phiriyakulkit
Blaine Nabors
Steve Tiersma
Trevor Sziliagyi

Record Last Year
3-5

State Titles
1981

Returning Players
Aiden Thompson, QB, 12
Addison Taylor, TE/DL, 12
Luke Lady, WR, 12
Maiko Nevarez, WR/DB, 12
Hunter Hafer, WR/DB, 12
Jackson Anderson, OL/DL, 12
Matthew Nevarez, RB/LB, 11
Mason McDaniel, RB/LB, 11
Colby Ferdinand, OL/DL, 11
Jack Ihli, WR/LB, 11
Tyler Szilagyi, QB/WR/DB, 11
Nate Rundquist, RB/LB, 10

Returning Players with Honors
OFFENSE

2nd Team - Matthew Nevarez (RB), Luke Lady (WR)
Honorable Mention - Aiden Thompson (QB), Hunter Hafer (WR), Maiko Nevarez (WR), Colby Ferdinand (OL)

DEFENSE

2nd Team - Addison Taylor (DL), Luke Lady (LB), Hunter Hafer (DB), Maiko Nevarez (DB)

Honorable Mention - Jack Ihli (LB), Mason McDaniel (LB), Tyler Szilagyi (DB)

Key Players lost from last year
Devon McDaniel, LB
JC Siguenza, OL/DL
Ethan Pearson, OL/DL
Christin Langdon, OL/DL
Sean Barton, OL/DL
Trevin McConnell, WR

All of these guys were 3-year varsity contributors to our team. We will miss their leadership on and off the field.

Incoming impact players
Nolan Hammon, WR, 12
Thomas Duerre, WR/DB, 11
Coleson Mensonides, WR, 11
Andres Soza, LB, 11
Israel Crane, OL/DL, 11
Tom Kesonaosod, OL/DL, 10
Keaton Crane, OL/DL, 10
Ian Johnson, RB/DB, 10
Dylan O'Brien, WR/DB, 10
Landon Skogsberg, OL/DL, 10

Written by: Keller Sherman

After a conference title and state playoff appearance in 2021, it was a bit of a step back for the Nampa Christian Trojans in 2022. The Trojans went from an 8-2 2021 campaign to a 3-5 mark in 2022. In year four under head coach Daniel Jenkins, can the Trojans bring back some of the magic from the 2021 campaign?

Nampa Christian has plenty of returning talent on the roster for the Trojans to make a run in 2023. Aiden Thompson, Addison Taylor, Luke Lady, Maiko Nevarez, Hunter Hafer, Jackson Anderson, Matthew Nevarez, Mason McDaniel, Colby Ferdin, Jack Ihli, Tyler Szilagyi, and Nate Rundquist are notable returners for Nampa Christian. These players combined for thirteen all conference honors with six second team selections and seven honorable mentions. Six players were honored on offense and seven on defense.

The Trojans will have some holes to fill on the roster as Devon McDaniel, JC Siguenza, Ethan Pearson, Christian Langdon, Sean Barton, and Trevin McConnell are all three year starters that will be missed dearly. “All of these guys were 3 year varsity contributors to our team. We will miss their leadership on and off the field,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins believes there are multiple players ready to step up and be contributors at the varsity level. Nolan Hammon, Thomas Duerre, Coleson Mensonides, Andres Soza, Israel Crane, Tom Kesonaosod, Keaton Crane, Ian Johnson, Dylan O’Brien, and Landon Skogsberg are seen by Jenkins as incoming impact players that will make an immediate impact.

On offense, Nampa Christian excels at versatility and agility. “Our strength on offense is our ability to be versatile in attacking defenses with Speed in Space. We are a Spread offense that will give defenses multiple looks,” Jenkins says. He adds, “We are looking to improve our overall efficiency and consistency as a unit.”

The defense will focus on limiting big plays while also being more efficient. Jenkins states, “Our defensive strength is our ability to attack from everywhere on the field. We will again be aligning in a 3-4 Defense. Our general focus on defense is to limit big plays. We are also looking to improve our overall efficiency on the defensive unit in terms of production from every position.”

Growth is both the thing that Jenkins is most excited for and the thing he believes is most important to Nampa Christian’s success. “I am excited for the growth in our returning starters from last season. We have added some new wrinkles, along with some new schemes on both sides of the ball,” Jenkins says. “We lost a lot of experience, but we have a solid core of talent coming up. We have great team chemistry and great buy-in to the program. I am looking forward to a great season.”

He continues, “The continued growth of our juniors and sophomores as they gain more experience at the varsity level is important too. No players in particular, but those classes are looking to take a big jump this season.”

The schedule opens with a road trip to the Magic Valley to take on Declo before three straight home games against 3A Snake River Valley Conference competition against McCall-Donnelly, Parma, and Fruitland. Conference play features road tilts at Cole Valley Christian and New Plymouth coupled with home dates versus Marsing and Melba.

Jenkins points to New Plymouth and Melba as teams that can surprise in conference. “New Plymouth has new energy around their program that will get the players and fans fired up to be a part of something and with Marsing and year 2 under coach Shea McClellin, they should start to be more competitive. Will they have the talent to keep up with the conference? I'm not sure yet. But they will be in a lot more of their games this year than previous years,” Jenkins predicts.

Nampa Christian’s 2021 conference title took many by surprise and many thought the Trojans could repeat in 2022. The road to a second conference title in three years will be a challenging one. Cole Valley won in Nampa last season and now the Trojans must go on the road to face the Chargers. A road date at New Plymouth will provide for a stiff challenge. While getting Melba at home is favorable, Marsing is expected to be quite improved and should put up a good fight even on Nampa Christian’s home field. The conference is so deep and has so much potential that a league champ may not make it out of the conference slate unbeaten. A conference crown for the Trojans will indeed be earned and Jenkins believes the pieces are there for it to happen.