Written by: Keller Sherman
2021 will leave the McCall-Donnelly Vandals wondering what could have been had the team been able to stay healthy. Injuries and players being out with COVID plagued coach Lee Leslie’s team all throughout last season. No losses were bigger than the season ending injuries suffered in Week 3 by departed seniors DJ Green and Ethan Tinney.
As the Vandals prepare to enter a new season, Leslie and his players are hungrier than ever for a title. With a plethora of returning talent as well as some incoming players, McCall-Donnelly should be poised for a big season in 2022.
Seven players that received all-conference honors return in 2022. That includes three second-team selections in offensive lineman Kyler Knude, returner Cole Burtenshaw, and linebacker Adam Rushton, along with four additional players that received honorable mentions. Knude is expected to lead the way for what Leslie labels a “jacked” offensive line. Overall, Leslie welcomes back 10 returning starters on offense.
Four incoming players are transferring into the program and Leslie believes all of them will come in and make an immediate impact.
Griffin Good arrives from 5A powerhouse Rigby and is fresh off a state title with the Trojans.
Van and Kingston Critchfield were part of another successful 5A program in Eagle. Their father, Joe Critchfield, has previously served under Leslie and joins the Vandals’ staff as a defensive assistant. “Joe Critchfield has moved up with his boys to coach,” Leslie said. “He was on my staff at Bishop Kelly and (was) my starting center on the Boise Burn team. He will be a big help on the d-line.”
Wyatt Truelove also arrives from Colorado and is expected to contribute.
The offense will be loaded and should be among the best in the state. The offensive line is sturdy, and will feature, from right to left; Kyler Knude, Andrew Alvarez, Glenn Richardson, Jake Carr, and Sawyer Klovis. Will Crossley will play quarterback and has three running backs to hand the ball off to in Cole Burtenshaw, Daniel Jackson, and Van Vinson. Jack Duncan at wide receiver will be a crucial piece to McCall’s passing attack.
Even with the amount of talent the Vandals will have in 2022, staying healthy will be no less important. Leslie is prepared in case Will Crossley goes out with injury at quarterback and has two backups ready to go at that position in Maddox Arnold and incoming freshman Gunner Newman.
Expect many of the players on the offensive line to also see playing time on the defensive line as well.
Adam Rushton, Griffin Good, Van Critchfield, TJ Leonard, Rudy Castro, Peyton Esplin, Mike Wyman, Mason Wayne, and Wyatt Trulove all bring strength to a loaded linebacker room.
As for the defensive back position, the Vandals have plenty of players to work with there as well with Van Vinson, Daniel Jackson, Cole Burtenshaw, Luke Hauder, Matt Daniels, and Caleb Beaman all expected to see playing time.
Leslie has praised the leadership demonstrated by his seniors entering the new season. “Everyone sold out in the weight room!,” Leslie exclaimed. “The leadership is there and (they’re) hungry to win a title.”
“Our senior leaders are stronger than last year's group,” he added. “These guys remind me of the 2019 team (that went 11-1).”
McCall-Donnelly will open up with a road date at Wood River, who was approved by the IHSAA to compete at the 3A level for football only. The game can also be seen as a showdown between schools representing two of the most popular resort areas in the state of Idaho. Two more home non-conference games will follow against Nampa Christian and Timberlake before an open date leads the Vandals into the conference slate.
The conference slate opens with a home date against Fruitland. Many expect this game to determine 3rd and 4th place in the conference as Homedale and Weiser are near consensus picks to be at the top, ditto for Parma and Payette at the bottom. Last year in Fruitland, the Grizzlies came out on top 24-14 and the Vandals will look to return the favor on their home field in 2022.
Following the showdown with Fruitland is another huge game as McCall-Donnelly travels to Weiser to do battle with the defending 3A state champions. Last year’s game was a 52-0 Wolverine rout. This year, some of the key pieces from Weiser’s championship winning team are gone so perhaps the Vandals can get a huge upset win on the road.
The schedule lets up slightly in their next two outings against Parma and Payette, but then a major challenge awaits. In a game that Leslie hopes will have the conference title on the line, McCall-Donnelly will hit the road and travel to Homedale. In McCall last year, the Trojans won easily 49-7, so the Vandals will have their work cut out for them if they are to dethrone Homedale at the top of the conference.
McCall-Donnelly was more than ready for the step up in competition when it moved up to the 3A classification in 2020, but players being out with injuries or COVID symptoms have prevented the team from reaching their full potential. Lee Leslie knows what his team is capable of when they are healthy and so do his players. When this team is at full strength, they are a force to be reckoned with and they are ready to prove it and leave it all on the field in 2022.