‘Something bigger than themselves.’ Idaho football team will honor Gold Star family.
Dustin Ard grew up a half a mile away from Rocky Mountain High School and has family members attending the school. So when Dan McKnight heard the Green Beret died while serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan on Aug. 29, he knew the Grizzlies had to honor their former neighbor.
A month later, No. 1-ranked Rocky Mountain (4-0) will host a Veterans Appreciation Night dedicated to Ard as the Grizzlies take on Centennial (2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
The event goes beyond the typical flag waving and camouflage-themed uniforms. Instead, the game will serve as a donation drive for the Blue Star Mothers of America, a nonprofit supporting mothers with sons or daughters in active service.
Fans can bring travel-sized toiletries and single-serving or individually wrapped snacks for the group to build care packages for soldiers overseas. Cash also will be accepted to purchase those items.
And before kickoff, Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin will present a wreath of white daisies to a representative of Ard’s family, Idaho’s newest Gold Star family. Ard brought white daisies to his 3-year-old daughter Reagan when he returned from missions.
In addition to his daughter, Ard leaves behind pregnant wife Mary, who is expecting a son.
“It hits very close to home, and so we wanted to do something that was more than just waving a flag, playing a patriotic song and then forgetting about it tomorrow,” said McKnight, the freshman offensive coordinator at Rocky Mountain.
The Grizzlies will deck out every corner of the stadium for the game with 100 flags representing all branches of the U.S. military. Players will rush onto the field with those flags, present the Blue Star Mothers in attendance with blue flowers and wear special gray uniforms with red, white and blue shoulders.
A fire truck also will hang an oversized American flag behind one end zone, and patriotic-themed T-shirts are on sale for $12.
Pregame festivities start at 6:45 p.m. Admission is free for those with a military ID.
“The school, once it was brought to them, they’ve jumped on board,” McKnight said. “Every organization in the school wants to be a part of it — the cheerleaders, the band, the soccer team, the boosters. … When you are in a school of 2,500 kids, getting that kind of involvement is fairly unique.
“Seeing them come together for a cause that’s bigger than themselves is quite special, especially growing up in this kind of affluent area that we live in. Military service is not common in this district.”
McKnight served in the Marines, the Army and the Idaho National Guard for 13 years. He has since founded BringOurTroopsHome.us to encourage Congress to withdraw troops from the Middle East, pointing out nearly none of Rocky Mountain’s students were born when the U.S. first went to war in Afghanistan.
Ard was the 15th U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan this year. The U.S. still has 14,000 troops stationed in the country as part of its longest-running war.
But McKnight said Friday night is about honoring Idaho’s soldiers and their families, not a political stance.
“I think it’s a chance for us to pause and remember this is real life,” Rocky Mountain head coach Chris Culig said. “We get a pretty awesome opportunity to play a game. But there are a lot of people that are dealing with a lot of things and dealing with real life.”
CASCADE CANCELS SEASON
Citing low turnout, the Ramblers of the 1A Division II Long Pin Conference have canceled the rest of their season.
Cascade was only able to play one game this season, a 59-0 loss to Notus on Sept. 6. It already had to cancel games with Pine Eagle, Oregon and Lewis County.
Cascade is the largest school in the 8-man Long Pin Conference with an average of 77.5 students in two enrollment counts last year. But the Ramblers are 8-43 the past seven years.
Mountain View at Eagle, 7 p.m. Friday
Second-ranked Eagle (4-0) hasn’t shown any ill effects of a coaching change, leading the state in scoring (42.5 points per game) and rushing yards (324 per game). But the Mustangs have yet to face a true test, beating opponents who are a combined 5-11.
Meanwhile, third-ranked Mountain View (3-1) already has battled Rocky Mountain and Capital, emerging with a split. Take the battle-tested team.
Mountain View 33, Eagle 29
Borah vs. Timberline, 7 p.m. Friday at Dona Larsen Park
The 5A playoff race has an unexpected contender in Timberline (2-2), which has won back-to-back games behind senior quarterback Andy Peters and sophomore running back Taylor Marcum, who has proved to be a revelation.
But Borah continues to exceed expectations week after week.
Borah 29, Timberline 20
Middleton at Bishop Kelly, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 3 Bishop Kelly had owned Middleton for years, posting an 11-2 record against the Vikings since they joined the 4A ranks until 2017. Then the Vikings installed the air raid offense, turning the tables and winning the last two meetings.
Unranked Middleton has its best quarterback yet at the helm in Dallas Hagler, 4A’s passing leader at 1,247 yards and 17 TDs. He’s thrown 15 TDs in his last six quarters alone.
Don’t call this an upset anymore.
Middleton 34, Bishop Kelly 27
Homedale at Fruitland, 7 p.m. Friday
These two teams have battled for supremacy in the 3A Snake River Valley the past six years. But it’s time for a changing of the guard as Homedale enters as the state’s No. 2 team with 3A’s best offense (50.5 ppg) and defense (5.3 ppg).
Meanwhile, Fruitland (1-3) has lost three in a row.
Homedale 42, Fruitland 7
This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 6:36 PM.
