Written by: Lucas Gebhart
It’s hard to judge how the 4A Inland Empire Conference lines up against each other until the end of the year. The conference only has three teams – Moscow, Lakeland Sandpoint – and they typically don’t play each other until the final two weeks of the year. Some out-of-state matchups are typically sprinked in, along with several games against schools who play in other classifications.
The point – it’s hard to make predictions in this conference, especially when two of the schools are welcoming in new head coaches.
Moscow’s new head man is Rob Rafus, who last coached for Troy High School in 2016. Lakeland’s new head coach is Mike Schroeder, marking the first time since the Jimmy Carter administration that the father-son duo of Tim or Terry Kiefer isn’t leading the varsity football program in Rathdrum.
Bafus takes over a young, but experienced team.
The Bears do lose quarterback Leon Hutton, along some other offensive weapons to graduation, but Moscow does return a lot of talent and not many of them are seniors.
The schedule almost plays into Moscow’s favor too, as once again, Lakeland and Sandpoint, the games the matter the most on this schedule, sit at the end of it, allowing Bafus to mold his young squad the way he sees fit before things really heat up. He says the early returns look promising.
“As a team our offensive strength is going to be how many returning players we have,” Bafus said. “We have quite a few returning players that are already buying into our offensive philosophy. With the returners buying into the program, they are also leading the new and young guys very strongly so we should have a very balanced attack offensively. We have a bunch of selfless players that just want to win.”
The new quarterback for the Bears is sophomore Noah Velasco, but one of the most vital returning pieces is lineman Wyatt Hartig, who was voted the conference’s newcomer of the year last year as a freshman.
“Having a big group of O-linemen is going to create lots of competition which will only make us better up front,” Bafus said. “The big boys are going to be what carries this team to victories and they are fully capable and willing to take on that role for this team.”
Much like last year, Moscow’s first six games will be played outside Idaho’s 4A class, making up a schedule that looks all too familiar.
Seven of Moscow’s eight opponents were on last year’s schedule. The only difference is 3A Kellogg, which replaces 2A Grangeville.
Last year, the Bears started 3-1 with wins against Grangeville and Washington’s Clarkston and Pullman High Schools. But then, things fell apart and the Bears dropped their final four of the year.
Two of the loses were to 5As Lake City and Lewiston, but the ones that stung the most were blowout loses to Lakeland and Sandpoint, the two games you must win if you’re competing in the Inland Empire.
The key this time around, Bafus says, will be to take things week by week.
“The ability to stay in the moment as a young team and learn throughout the season (is important),” he said. “We have a new coaching staff and our roster is young and we will grow together.”