Emmett football ready for first state title

The Emmett High football team made history last weekend, crushing Sugar-Salem 42-14 to reach the state championship for the first time.

“It’ll be a new environment, but nothing we shouldn’t be able to handle,” Emmett senior Yancy Hyde said.

The Huskies have handled all comers this season, including a trio of 4A opponents, to produce the best season in school history. Emmett has blown out every opponent since a two-point victory over Middleton in the second week of the season, and the Huskies have the No. 1 scoring offense in 3A at 51.3 points per game.

That’s a far cry from the program Mike Schroeder took over four years ago. The rebuilding project started bearing fruit last year when Emmett dropped from the 4A classification to 3A, made the playoffs for the first time since 1997 and won its first postseason game since 1995. It went one step further this year, repeating as the 3A Snake River Valley champ and reaching the state finals.

“I inherited this group when they were in ninth grade,” Schroeder said of his seniors. “It’s been a maturation process for four years to get the program at a level of expectations that this is expected.

“We want to be a playoff team, whether we’re a 3A or a 4A school. I think those expectations have been set, and so far we’re meeting those.”

The Huskies will return to the 4A classification next season.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Emmett football ready for first state title."