Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Firth
2. North Fremont
3. West Jefferson
4. Ririe
5. Salmon
Written by: Brandon Baney
For the Ririe Bulldogs football team, the theme for 2021 is "score more points." The Bulldogs struggled offensively during last year's 2-6 campaign. In those two victories (40-26 over Valley and 15-7 over Salmon) the offense showed glimpses. In their six losses, however, the Bulldogs failed to score a single point, suffering through six shutouts.
That win over Salmon has Ririe fans expected, and the Bulldogs were picked to finish ahead of the Savages in the preseason coaches' poll. The job won't be easy, though: of the nine players who received All-Conference recognition for the Bulldogs a year ago, only two are projected to return (offensive lineman Gavin Harris and defensive back Donivan Johnson).
Also presenting a challenge in 2021: the schedule. Six of Ririe's eight opponents made the Class 2A postseason a year ago. In fact, the only opponents who didn't qualify for the playoffs are the two teams Ririe beat a year ago: Valley and Salmon.
Otherwise, the Bulldogs will have to contend with Soda Springs, Malad and Bear Lake in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Ririe will travel to Salmon for their Nuclear Conference opener on September 24th before facing the gauntlet of Firth, West Jefferson and North Fremont.