Years as Head Coach
10th Season

Previous Experience
Assistant Coach at Shelley High School
Assistant Coach at Hillcrest High School

Assistant Coaches
Dan Bennion, Brady Gardner, Brad Parkinson, Troy Dougherty, Rick Dixon, Kevin McCluskey, Dan Mecham, Kyle Hansen, Dwight Richins, Bob Torres, Nephi Gibson

Record Last Year
11-0

State Titles
2018, 2019, 2020, 2022

Returning Players
Josiah Bosco, RB/DB, 12
Ammon Lee, TE/LB, 12
Tate Cutler, RB/LB, 12
Sam Gonzalez, RB/LB, 12
Cach Harris, RB/LB, 12
Dawson McInelly, RB/LB, 11
Carson Harris, RB/LB, 12
Clark Siddoway, OL/DL, 11
Ryan Bingham, OL/DL, 12
Caden Dalling, OL/DL, 12

Returning Players with Honors
Carson Harris, 1st Team All-State RB, 2nd Team All-State LB, 1st Team All-Conference RB, 1st Team AllConference LB
Ryan Bingham, 1st Team All-State OL, 2nd Team All-State DL, 1st Team All-Conference OL, 1st Team AllConference DL
Tate Cutler, 1st Team All-Conference LB, 2nd Team All-Conference WR
Josiah Bosco, 2nd Team All-Conference RB, 2nd Team All-Conference DB
Caden Dalling, 2nd Team All-Conference OL
Sam Gonzalez, 2nd Team All-Conference LB
Cash Harris, 2nd Team All-Conference LB

Key Players lost from last year
Daniel Neal, 3A All-Idaho Player of the Year, 2 Year Starting QB
Ty Hirrlinger, 1st Team All-State WR, 1st Team All-State DB
Kort Summers, 1st Team All-State OL, 1st Team All-State DL
Mason Kinghorn, 1st Team All-State K
Trevon Holman, 2nd Team All-State DB

Incoming impact players
James Chase, QB, 12
Abe Baldwin, FS, 11
Ben Aldrich, DE, 11
Jason Fleming, RB/LB, 11
Kason Williams, RB/LB, 11
Hagan Morris, WR/DB, 11
Kooper Mace, WR/DB, 11
Riley Williams, WR/DB, 11
Tyler Williams, WR/DB, 11
Trayzon Dillard, LB, 12
Austin Rumsey, OL/DL, 12
Porter McCluskey, OL/DL, 12
Daiken Harrop, OL/DL, 12
Case Vela, OL/DL, 11
Dallin Stewart, OL/DL, 11
Kace Malstrom, OL/DL, 11
Hank Carter, TE/DE, 11
Dallin Liddell, TE/DE, 12
Brayden Pocock, OL/DL, 11
Tyler Harris, OL/DL, 11

Written by: Keller Sherman

Sugar-Salem is on an unprecedented run of four state titles in the past five seasons. The lone blip on the radar occurred in 2021 when a goal line stand in triple overtime at the hands of Weiser denied the Diggers a chance to be winners of five straight crowns. All four state championship game victories during this run have come against another team from District 3 as Sugar-Salem has put on a masterclass on how to beat Homedale. Can the Diggers make it five out of six in 2023?

The Diggers will reload, returning several players that will help Sugar-Salem on its quest for another state title. Josiah Bosco, Ammon Lee, Tate Cutler, Sam Gonzalez, Cach Harris, Dawson McInelly, Carson Harris, Clark Siddoway, Ryan Bingham, and Caden Dalling make up an extensive list of returning talent. Many of these players earned spots on all-conference and all-state teams.

Carson Harris and Ryan Bingham notably earned all-state honors with both being first-team offensive and second-team defensive selections along with first team honors at the conference level on both sides of the ball. Tate Cutler, Josiah Bosco, Caden Dalling, Sam Gonzalez, and Cach Harris are additional all-conference selections from 2022.

Daniel Neal, the state player of the year and a two year starter at quarterback, is gone along with four additional all-state honorees. Ty Hirrlinger and Kort Summers were first team offensive and defensive selections while Mason Kinghorn and Trevon Holman were first team special teams and second team defensive honorees respectively. 10th year head coach Tyler Richins points to these players as the ones that will be missed most.

Numerous incoming impact players will help Sugar-Salem remain a powerhouse at the state level. The offense returns plenty of production at running back and offensive line. “We have great experience at running back and offensive line coming back this year,” Richins said. “We look to continue our dominance in running the football. We know that will open opportunities for us to throw the football and keep teams honest.”

The main area that the Sugar-Salem offense will look to improve on is converting on third down. Richins talks about the necessity for this improvement as he states, “(I’d like to) see our 3rd down conversion percentage increase. We were very successful on 4th down but we need to not put ourselves in difficult situations.”

The defense returns a high level of experience as well with six of eleven starters back on that side of the ball along with numerous players that saw significant playing time. While Richins offers great praise for his defense, he believes there is still room to be even better. “We are looking to keep playing great defense,” Richins said. “(Our goals are to ) keep teams under 10 points a game and cause turnovers. Last year we were +19 in turnover margin.”

Sugar-Salem opens the 2023 campaign with a visit from Century before hosting Templeton, California at Madison High School as part of the annual Rocky Mountain Rumble. After a home date with Shelley, the Diggers face a second out of state opponent as it travels to Star Valley, Wyoming.

Three additional road tilts follow as the Diggers head down Highway 20 and Interstate 15 to face Marsh Valley then head up north to face Timberlake. Conference play begins as the Diggers play their final road game of the season at Teton, which Richins believes could surprise again at the conference and state levels. Senior night against South Fremont concludes the regular season as Sugar-Salem looks to make it back to the playoffs and make it five titles in six seasons.