2A WIC football preview: Repeat champs are rare. Who will emerge atop the chaotic league?
One trait rules 2A Western Idaho Conference football — parity.
No team has repeated as league champions since Parma in 2008 and ‘09. And the Panthers moved up to the 3A level the next season.
Since then, all five teams have taken turns atop the conference. And with Nampa Christian’s heavy graduation losses, odds are the league will have another new champion this fall.
So we surveyed the league’s coaches and broke down all the contenders below.
1. MELBA MUSTANGS
Last season: 7-4, 3-1 2A WIC
Playoffs: Lost to North Fremont 44-38 in quarterfinals
Coach: Juan Colunga, sixth season
Career record: 43-39
Base offense (coordinator): Wing-T (Colunga)
Base defense (coordinator): 4-3 (Colunga)
Key players: Cody Dickard, sr., C/DT; Cache Beus, jr., QB/DL; Kaden Dayley, sr., RB/WR/DB; Brenton Overall, sr., RB/DL
The Mustangs are no stranger to high expectations, finishing atop the preseason coaches’ poll for the third straight year. They bring back 13 starters (seven offense, six defense) as they try to recapture the league title.
Headlining Colunga’s high-powered offense is Beus, who broke out as a sophomore, racking up 1,898 passing yards, 21 TDs and just three interceptions. He lost his top receiver and running back to graduation. But he’ll have plenty of returning talent to distribute the ball to in Gabe Shaffer (1,137 total yards, 13 TDs), Dayley (776 total yards, eight TDs) and Overall.
The offensive line remains thin after losing seven seniors and having two key players move out of the district. Dickard, a two-time second-team All-Idaho selection, is the only returning starter. He remains one of the top bulldozers at the 2A level. But the rest of the group makes the jump to the varsity level together.
2. COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHARGERS
Last season: 5-4, 2-2 2A WIC
Playoffs: Lost to Bear Lake 14-3 in first round
Coach: Mark Moreno, third season
Career record: 8-8
Base offense (coordinator): Gun-T (Moreno)
Base defense (coordinator): 3-5 (Jordan Henslin)
Key players: Lincoln Gee, sr., RB/LB/DB; Sam Sherman, sr., TE/FB/OL/LB; Ian Hamby, sr., OL/DT; Ryan Golenor, sr., RB/WB/DE
The Chargers made it back to the playoffs last fall. Now they return eight starters on both sides as they seek their first league title since 2013.
All that returning talent includes four starting offensive linemen. Moreno said they’ll be key to establishing a running game and a physicality the Chargers lacked in the past. That will clear the way for Gee, an Idaho commit, and Golenor to post big numbers as Cole Valley breaks in a new offensive system that puts both of them on the field at the same time.
Dalton Kranz gets the nod at quarterback with the graduation of three-year starter Carter Fortin. The senior is new to the program, but he provides a dual-threat in an already dynamic offense.
3. NAMPA CHRISTIAN TROJANS
Last season: 8-2, 4-0 2A WIC
Playoffs: Lost to Bear Lake 14-6 in quarterfinals
Coach: Daniel Jenkins, third season
Career record: 13-14
Base offense (coordinator): Spread (Jenkins)
Base defense (coordinator): 4-4 (Chris Glenn)
Key players: Devon McDaniel, sr., RB/LB; JeanCarlo Siguenza, sr., OL/DL; Ethan Pearson, sr., OL/DL
Graduation hit the reigning league champs hard, robbing them of the league’s player of the year (Landon Cheney), offensive player of the year (Dane Bradshaw) and defensive player of the year (Caleb Johnson). But it didn’t leave the cupboards totally bare.
McDaniel will lead the defense after earning second-team all-conference honors a year ago, posting 76 tackles, three sacks and an interception. And Siguenza and Pearson form the heart of the offensive and defensive lines. Both are returning all-conference picks entering their third season as starters.
Even with just four returning starters on both sides of the ball, Jenkins said he expects the Trojans to continue competing at the highest levels of the 2A classification.
4. NEW PLYMOUTH PILGRIMS
Last season: 3-5, 1-3 2A WIC
Playoffs: Did not qualify
Coach: Dallan Rupp, 10th season
Career record: 46-36
Base offense (coordinator): Power spread (Brian Walton)
Base defense (coordinator): 3-4 (Kyle Harmon)
Key players: Hunter Williams, sr., OL/DL; Connor Hawker, sr., WR/DB; Skyler Rodriguez, jr., RB/LB; Zack Conlee, sr., TE/LB
The Pilgrims convert from a double-wing offense to the spread to become more balanced and take advantage of an athletic group of skill players who can stretch the field.
That group includes 11 returning starters (six offense, five defense). Hawker provides a deep-threat receiver, while Rodriguez led the team in rushing yards a year ago (301) and Conlee serves as a jack of all trades. But the quarterback position remains an open battle with four players battling for the open spot to start camp.
The identity shift doesn’t mean New Plymouth will become all finesse. Williams made the all-conference first team on both sides of the line each of the past two years. He’ll team with Dylan Reynolds to form a stout plug in the heart of the defense.
5. MARSING HUSKIES
Last season: 1-7, 0-4 2A WIC
Playoffs: Did not qualify
Coach: Shea McClellin, first season
Career record: 0-0
Base offense (coordinator): Wildcat spread (McClellin)
Base defense (coordinator): 4-4, 4-2-5 (Hudson Sauer, Chris Ackerman)
Key players: Cache Hance, so., RB; Braeden Davis, sr., WR/QB/DB; Mason Enochson, so., WR; Jordan Blas, sr., QB
Former Boise State star and Super Bowl champ Shea McClellin returns to rebuild his alma mater, which has lost 38 straight conference games and has gone 6-57 (.095) the past eight seasons.
He inherits a fresh set of clay to mold, with just three returning starters on both sides of the ball. McClellin said he wants to get the ball to his playmakers in space and let them do the rest. Those playmakers include Davis, the leader of the defense who will do a bit of everything on offense, as well as a pair of sophomores. Hance takes over as the workhorse running back, and McClellin said to watch out for Enochson, an athletic receiver who transferred from Skyview.
McClellin added that the team has made improvements across the board, stating that Marsing is a team no one should overlook this fall.