The high school football season in Idaho begins on Aug. 23. So to get you ready, we’re counting down with at least one local team preview every day until kickoff.
Up next: The Century Diamondbacks
2023 IN REVIEW:
0-8 (last place in 4A South East Idaho Conference)Missed state playoffs
COACH’S RESUME
Head Coach: Ryan Fleischmann, third season (second stint)Overall record: 14-30Assistant coaches: Bruce Givens, Tyler Robbins, Troy Waters, Ryan Smith, Darrell Cunningham, Chris Frost, Danny McAleese, DJ Clark
RETURNING STARTERS
4 on offense3 on defense
Rylan Fleischmann has been at Century from almost the beginning − 24 years to be exact.
He came in just a year after the school first opened its door in 1999. Since then, Fleischmann has been an assistant at nearly every position and is currently in his second stint as head coach.
So he’s seen a lot.
But last year was a first.
The Diamondbacks had the worst season in program history. They went winless for just the second time ever, lost games by an average of 36.9 points per game and scored just 63 points − both of which were program worsts.
“It was difficult,” Fleischmann said. “It was a long season for us. A lot of hurdles to overcome and some of them we did, and a lot of them we didn’t. So that’s always frustrating to work hard and not achieve what you set out as a group to achieve.”
But there’s reason to believe that things will be better this season.
For starters, Century has a much more manageable and reasonable schedule. It got rid of the annual crosstown game against Highland. The Rams were one of three teams the Diamondbacks went up against last year who either won or played for a state title. All but one team they faced made the playoffs. Only three of their eight opponents this season recorded a winning season in 2023.
The team’s numbers have also stabilized.
Century, which has had its student-body population gutted the last few years due to the redrawing of the district’s school boundary lines, is on track to field three teams (freshmen, junior varsity, varsity) for the first time in three years.
“That really hurts your development because you’re throwing young kids into the fire before they’re ready,” Fleischmann said.
However, it didn’t deter this year’s “rising juniors” as Fleischmann put it. They’ll be the cornerstones of this year’s team with just two of this year’s eight seniors having significant on the field experience.
“They were much more of a group of stout, young men, emotionally and physically, that were able to survive that experience and benefit from it,” Fleischmann said. “They didn’t walk away from the sport. They didn’t quit. They didn’t stop trying hard. They didn’t get scared away. They survived whatever setbacks that situation presented to them and grew from it. So it’s a good group of young men that, to use a teaching term, really have a solid growth mindset. They’re OK with what they are not able to achieve today, looking for how to fix that in the future.”
Those include three all-league returners along the offensive and defensive lines. Rogan Boomer, Daniel Harris and Dailen Corrigan, who played through a pretty serious shoulder injury last season, should give Century a solid base. Ruben Guerrero, who Fleischmann said has made a “complete transformation” is another one, too. Guerrero was just a 5-foot-8-inch, 140-pound defensive back a year ago.
“I think the line of scrimmage is where we start because of those guys,” Fleischmann said. “I do think we’re going to start building this season at the line of scrimmage because that’s where the attitude is. That’s where the commitment is. That’s where the desire is. That’s where you can find the biggest population of last year’s sophomores that are ready to go for varsity now finally.”
Century has a lot of those same types of guys in the skill positions, as well.
DeShawn Clark was an all-conference second-team wideout last season. His older sister is Matejah Mangum, a six-time state track and field champion who didn’t lose a single high school 200-meter race and is now competing at the University of Utah.
He’s got that same speed. Clark is arguably the fastest guy on the team even four months removed from having surgery on his knee. He had a fracture in his femur under the knee cap.
“It might not even just be the speed that his sister has. I watched him make a catch last year when he jumped up in the air and was headed one direction and the ball was thrown behind him and he literally changed his body in the air and came down with the ball. Very few people can do what he can do,” Fleischmann said. “He’s got the gift of genetics. He’s a really talented young man. A sweet kid, too. Never complain. Always smiles. Great student. Never ever says anything bad about anybody. I’m a big fan of DeShawn Clark. You can definitely quote me on that.”
Fellow juniors Josia Davids and Talon Laton will join him in the receiving corp. So will do-it-all junior Carter Ward.
He earned all-league honors in the secondary and at kicker a year ago. Ward will resume kicking, punting and defensive back duties this season to go along with a prominent role in the offense at slot receiver.
“Carter is one of those kids you can kind of ask him to do anything. He could be a running back. He could be a linebacker,” Fleischmann said. “But Carter’s greatest attribute is he wants to get better every day. He wants to be the guy. Carter wants to figure out how to be in that leadership role. So he’s not just really trying to not just improve himself as a football player, but he’s also trying to take on that mantle of a leader for this team.”
Griffin Eversoll is one of those of those two seniors. He was the primary ball carrier last season and will be called upon to do so again in 2024.
Deagan Crabtree is the other. He’s hard to miss at 6-7, 221 pounds, which should once again come in handy under center. Crabtree was a second-team all-conference quarterback a year ago.
“We’re going to ask a lot of Deagan and he’s going to have to rise to that challenge,” Ryan Fleishmann said. “He likes football a lot and he puts a lot of his time and his energy into his football career.
“He’s definitely going to be the conversation every week and he’s done what we’ve asked him to do.”
So has Ella Whitworth.
She walked into Fleishmann’s office three years ago and asked to play. The 5-6, 110-pound senior corner, who broke her leg against Highland last season, is now one of the team’s unquestioned leaders.
“She had tears in her eyes, and not because her leg was broken. But because we had to pull her off the field. I can’t talk enough about her,” Fleischmann said. “She’s really strong because she’s hit the weight room harder than any guy. She’s the first kid in the weight room and the last one out. She barks at the boys and tells them what to do.”
There will be a number of sophomores who will go back and forth between junior varsity and varsity. The three who could really break out are Tito Villano, Carlos Urias and Xen Fleischmann − the coach’s son.
His two older brothers Titan and Bruin are both currently playing Division I football at Montana State and the Air Force Academy, respectively. Xen is on track to follow in their footsteps being already nearly 6-5 and 200 pounds.
So Century could be taking a much-needed step forward in getting back to the program that was once a perennial contender with three state championships to its name.
“We’ve got something to work with now. We got something to build on now. This is less about football and more about commitment,” Fleischmann said. “Everyone one of these kids is showing up every day in the summer and they’ve worked hard and they’ve battled through injuries, sometimes through surgeries. They’re all excited and they’re ready to roll. And that makes me excited.”
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