‘Saving the best for last.’ Capital football comes out on fire in delayed season opener.
The Capital High football team couldn’t work out together this summer. They couldn’t start practices like everyone else in August. And even a scheduling quirk kept them sidelined for an extra week.
But Capital coach Todd Simis promised his team they were just saving the best for last. And the Eagles backed him up Friday, crushing Skyview 55-12 in their delayed season opener.
“It was definitely a roller coaster,” Capital senior Jackson Reed said. “It was one of the most traumatizing things to think about the chance that we might not get to play, when that was very relevant.
“Just the fact that we’ve been able to do this, and we got to come out here and finally play our first game, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Capital (1-0, 1-0 5A SIC West) was one of the last high school football teams in the state to take the field Friday. Only Moscow and Orofino in North Idaho remained sidelined entering the fifth week of the season. They both also played their first games Friday.
The Eagles didn’t show much rust though, jumping all over Skyview (1-1, 1-1) early to trigger the running-clock mercy rule at the start of the fourth quarter.
Capital forced fumbles on Skyview’s first and third offensive plays. Junior defensive lineman Josh Summers recovered both of them, setting up a short field for two early scores. Cade Larson also nabbed a first-quarter interception as Capital racked up three turnovers in its opening period of the season.
That was more than enough for Capital’s offense with Reed and junior quarterback Max Clark at the helm. In his first varsity start, Clark finished 11-of-21 for 257 yards and six touchdowns through the air. He also ran for another score.
Clark’s six touchdown passes are the most for a Capital quarterback since Makena Simis threw six against Meridian in 2012.
“It was everything that you could have wanted to see out of a first-time varsity starter,” Reed said. “I really thought he kept his composure great. He’s such a smart kid and definitely knows the offense and knows the defensive schemes so well, that you just know all he had to do was go out there and perform. And he did amazing.”
Reed served as Clark’s favorite target. He caught Clark’s first four touchdown passes before finishing with six catches for 126 yards.
The Seattle University baseball commit also shined on defense, where he manned the free safety spot and kept Skyview’s passing game in check. And he served as a kick and punt returner, racking up 226 all-purpose yards on 11 touches.
“Jackson is a player that every team probably wants,” Clark said. “He’s a stud overall. He can play any position and do it at 100% and just ball out anywhere.
“Just give Jackson Reed the ball. It’s not very hard.”
Simis reflected on the long journey his team made to get to Friday. A few short weeks ago, a season looked unlikely if not impossible. The Eagles only field 14 seniors, a small number for a traditional power like Capital. And several players transferred away to other schools where a season looked more certain.
But Simis said once the Eagles reached Monday of a game week, he knew they had finally made it.
“This week, I knew that there was nothing that was going to derail us,” Simis said. “But we did make a point that we don’t know what the future holds, like, five weeks from now, four weeks from now. So have some gratitude and really embrace this.”
Friday also served as what is believed to be the first varsity football game on Capital’s campus. The previous 55 years, the Eagles played at either Albertsons Stadium or Boise State’s Dona Larsen Park.
The game kicked off at 4 p.m. because Capital’s junior varsity field doesn’t have stadium lights. And a handful of parents dotted the grass behind the end zones in camping chairs to maintain social distancing, creating a new kind of atmosphere.
But Reed said once the game started, he didn’t notice the difference.
“Being able to finally, for the first time ever, just walk from our locker room down to our field to kind of protect the homeland, it’s such a cool experience,” Reed said.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 8:26 PM.
