Prep football preview: Blackfoot looking to rebound from 0-9 season behind physicality

BLACKFOOT — The Blackfoot Broncos are coming disconnected a winless season.

The 0-9 grounds resulted successful nan replacement of four-year caput coach Jerrod Ackley. Blackfoot High School reached into nan Magic Valley for a replacement, hiring erstwhile Declo High School caput coach Josh Stewart.

Stewart, who grew up successful Driggs, told EastIdahoNews.com that contempt starring nan Hornets to a 2A State Championship berth and an 11-1 season, he jumped astatine Blackfoot’s offer.

“Southeast Idaho is location to me,” he said. “So nan opportunity to travel backmost and beryllium a portion of a schoolhouse for illustration Blackfoot, which has specified a awesome contented of football, was excessively bully to walk up.”

Stewart coaches up his section extremity portion during a caller practice. | Kalama Hines, EastIdahoNews.com

Stewart wasn’t judge what to expect, taking complete for a squad coming disconnected 1 of nan roughest seasons successful its school’s history. He was pleased to find a group of players pinch a “good attitude” and who “worked really difficult successful nan outpouring and summer.”

“When we went to our squad campy this summer, nan 2 large things I was looking for were, are we going to beryllium beingness capable and diversion capable to compete. I felt for illustration some those questions were answered, yes,” he said.

Still, Stewart acknowledges that a play for illustration past year’s will coming immoderate “mental obstacles” for his team. A large portion of rebounding, he said, will beryllium astir getting past mini mistakes alternatively than allowing them to snowball pinch a not-again mentality.

“Bad things happen,” he said. “The champion of teams person turnovers, they person bad plays. Good teams are capable to get complete those speedy and bounce back.”

With a caller coach comes caller gameplans for nan Broncos.

Stewart explained his violative accuracy arsenic 1 limited upon physicality. For his teams, winning is astir controlling nan statement of scrimmage and establishing nan run.

“We’ll still propulsion nan ball, person immoderate dispersed concepts, but we really want to beryllium capable to tally nan ball,” he said. “Especially successful Idaho, you’re going to person games wherever nan weather’s not bully and you person to beryllium capable to tally nan football.”

The athleticism and explosivity of nan discourtesy will travel erstwhile Blackfoot gets nan shot successful abstraction to receivers for illustration elder Jaiden Rodriguez, who Stewart said runs a 10.9-second 100 meter.

Defensively, Stewart said nan attraction will beryllium connected stopping nan tally by, again, controlling nan statement of scrimmage.

As for expectation, Stewart would not put a number connected really galore wins he thinks his squad is capacity of picking up, but said they will beryllium competitory each week and travel retired connected apical astatine slightest immoderate of those weeks.

“I expect america to compete,” he said. “Last year’s play was what it was — location were a batch of games that weren’t competitive. We’re going to compete. Every game, we’ll beryllium successful it, we’ll beryllium physical.”