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: Rockland Bulldogs
2023 IN REVIEW:
8-3(first place in 1A DII Rocky Mountain Conference)Lost 67-18 to Camas County in state semifinals
COACH’S RESUME:
Head Coach: Gerry Hunter, seventh seasonOverall record: 28-30Assistant coaches: Derrick Black, Kip Wilson, Wes Matthews
RETURNING STARTERS:
4 on offense
4 on defense
Rockland finally got over the hump last season.
After recording just two playoff wins over the last 32 years, the Bulldogs advanced all the way to the state semifinals for the first time since 1990.
“I always felt like we had a top-5 team, but the way the bracket was set up, that’s just the way it happened,” said Rockland head coach Gerry Hunter who’s teams faced someone that played for a state championship in three out of the last five previous seasons. “But it’s super exciting what happened last year. It’s got us excited about this year and down the road.”
Especially with the Bulldogs now actually having a true junior high program. Previously, their kids co-opted with American Falls, which is nearly 25 miles up the road. They were also playing the traditional 11-man football as opposed to their 8-man game.
“That’s a big deal. We’ll be implementing our offensive and defensive schemes that we run in high school. So they’ll be familiar with our system as they move into high school,” Hunter said. “We practice all at the same time and the high school kids rub shoulders with them. The younger kids always look up to the high school kids.”
Perhaps none more in recent memory than Teague Matthews.
He was Rockland’s rockstar with three consecutive all-state selections at both wide receiver and quarterback. Matthews was the team’s leading tackler last season (82), as well.
For his career, he racked up 3,897 yards and 64 touchdowns. But Matthews’ services are now employed by the University of Utah.
“Teague was a great athlete, probably one of the top two or three that’s ever come through Rockland High School,” Hunter said. “It’s going to be impossible for somebody to come in and replace Teague.”
The losses of Cody Woodworth, Eli Hendrickson and Abe Held certainly hurt, too. But the cupboard is far from bare.
The Bulldogs still have an all-state player in Aidan Radford. And don’t let his 5-foot-6-inch, 120-pound frame fool you either.
The senior wideout was Matthews’ favorite target last season with 49 receptions for 871 yards and 18 touchdowns. It garnered him second-team honors. He was also a first-team all-conference defensive back with four interceptions and 32 total tackles.
“He is definitely our playmaker,” Hunter said. “He has a knack for getting open.
“On defense, he’s a ballhawk back there at defensive back. But teams overlook him. They walk on the field and see this little guy and I don’t know how many times there’s been a 6-3, 200-pound running back coming down and it’s him and Aidan. And the guy just thinks he’s going to run him over and Aiden takes him out every single time, even when he was a freshman. So the kid’s got heart and he’s got mental toughness. He’s got a football IQ off the charts and he is definitely one of our leaders on and off the field.”
Radford will be joined by fellow seniors David Jensen and Ethan Crump.
Jensen is back after blowing out his knee in the first half of the season opener last year. An injury that Hunter admits, “set the team back.” He started at fullback and was an all-conference defensive end before the injury. Crump took his place at fullback and was an all-league linebacker to boot.
They’ll all oversee an underclassmen group filled with talent.
Xavier Parish will try and fill the big void left at quarterback. The sophomore was Matthews’ understudy last year and part of the first-ever boys cross country state championship where he personally finished eighth. So was Radford (11th) and new addition Woodrow Lowder (ninth). The junior, who was named the 6th man of the boys basketball state tournament last spring, will be one of Parish’s weapons at wide receiver while playing defensive back.
Isaac Held will try to fill Matthews’ big shoes at middle linebacker. Abe’s little brother was a first-team all-league defensive end last season. The junior is actually quite similar in size to Matthews at 6-5, 210 pounds, which will also come in handy at wideout.
Brothers Zach (sophomore) and Ethan (junior) Permann will be in the backfield. Zach was the starting running back and outside linebacker a year ago. Juniors CJ Wilson and Ethan Munk, who also plays defensive end and just won a speed contest at a recent practice, will be their primary blockers on an entirely new offensive line.
“We’ve got some young guys that will step in and there’ll be a little bit of a learning curve right off of the get go,” Hunter said. “I don’t know that we’re going to be able to replace some guys that started for four years. But these guys are going to be up to the challenge and they’ll go in and do their best and we’ve got confidence in them.”
Enough to think that Rockland could take another step in playing for its first state title in 37 years and maybe even win the first in program history?
“I think a lot of people are going to see and understand what we did last year and we’re probably going to get overlooked a little bit,” Hunter said. “But we think we’re going to compete with the best teams in the state. We feel like with our farm kids we can compete with the best any time, any place.”
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