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Notus High School
School Info
Conference: 1AD1 Western Idaho Conference
Classification: 1A D1
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Head Coach: Sam Crockett
Years as Head Coach: 3rd Season
Previous Experience: Offensive Coordinator at Vale HS (OR)
Record Last Year: 4-4
State Titles: None
Assistant Coaches:
Brad Huter
Dave Haskell
Drew Williams
Returning Players:
): Kobe Zimmerman (Sr, TE/LB)
Brandon Patrick (Jr, FB/DE)
Eryck Peterson (Jr, RB)
Isaiah Haskell (Jr, OL/DL)
Justin Hutton (Jr, OL/DL)
Michael Zimmerman (Soph, RB/LB)
Caleb Zimmerman (Soph, QB/DB)
Returning Players with Honors:
Brandon Patrick 1st-Team All-Conference LB
Kobe Zimmerman 2nd-Team All- Conference TE and LB
Caleb Zimmerman 2nd-Team All-Conference DB
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“Key Players” lost from last year:
Jaylan Hibbard (QB)
Trey Zimmerman (DE)
Jose Sandoval (OL)
Incoming “impact” players:
Caleb Zimmerman, replacing Hibbard at QB
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Team Preview:
Written by: Will Hoenike (@willhoenike)
A window could be opening in the small Canyon County town of Notus, where the hometown Pirates have a long history of strong athletics despite a population of under 550 people.
The football team has had success – a perfect regular season in 2010 and a 6-2 regular season in 2012 come to mind – but one has to go back to the early 2000s to find post-season success under long-time head coach Tim Dranginis.
This is Sam Crockett’s program now and the third-year head coach has his squad in position to return to the top shelf of eight-man football in Idaho.
Reason? Crockett has two things all football coaches crave, especially in the eight-man game: youth and experience.
Yep, he’s got them both. And he could have them for a couple years. Hence, the window.
Health is always a key, but consider: two returning offensive and defensive linemen, Isaiah Haskell and Justin Hutton, who started all season last fall as sophomores. Brandon Patrick was an All-Conference selection at linebacker as a sophomore. Two returning starters in the defensive backfield, Caleb Zimmerman and Jacob Godina. Godina is a junior, Zimmerman is a sophomore. Running back Eryck Peterson, who saw snaps last fall, is just a junior. Michael Zimmerman, who is expected to see action at running back and linebacker, is a sophomore.
The Pirates did lose veteran quarterback Jaylan Hibbard but moving in to take his place is Caleb Zimmerman, who earned second-team All-Conference recognition as a defensive back as a freshman last fall. Over the summer, he caught the eye of some college coaches with his scrambling and arm strength. There could be some early bumps but, again, he’s just a sophomore.
Crockett does have an important senior leader back this fall in Kobe Zimmerman. Zimmerman was second-team All-Conference as both a tight end and linebacker during his junior season. His coach describes him as an impact player and his experience will be important.
Plenty of youth and experience. Now, Crockett hopes, it’s time to turn the corner back to the top of the standings.
“I was happy to be a .500 team while only starting three seniors (last season),” Crockett said. “I think we are much smarter and faster and I am excited to see our team turn each game into a track race.”
The Pirates open with three of four games on the road. Survive that early gauntlet, which includes a road date at Idaho City on Sept. 25, and the Pirates could be primed to do big things with three of the team’s final four games at home. The regular-season finale, at home on Oct. 23 against Wilder, pits two neighboring communities that are separated by less than ten miles.
“They have had our number the past couple of years but our kids are more confident this year that they can make this rivalry a better game,” Crockett noted. “They (Wilder) are returning some tough kids and (it) will be a great game.”
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