Written by: Brandon Baney
Every season, one of the biggest questions a coach gets asked is: What kind of goals have you set for the season?
For some, nothing less than a championship is a disappointment. For others, it's winning the conference or qualifying for the players.
Others might say the overall development of a younger team is the most important goal.
In St. Maries, 12th year head coach Craig Tefft has a bit of an unusual goal for his team. "We are really excited to get to play a full season," Tefft stated. "Covid has really taken a toll on our program the last two years. We need games to get kids experience."
The Lumberjacks have played a total of ten games over the past two seasons. Fellow 2A program Melba played 11 contests in 2021 alone.
If that wasn't bad enough, St. Maries couldn't even have a regular offseason ahead of their 2022 opener against Washington's Riverside High. "We are still a work in progress," Tefft said. "We missed camp this summer and will have to establish an identity really quickly."
St. Maries lost standout quarterback to Sean Elliott to graduation. His replacement is still being worked out, but whoever takes the reigns at QB will have several outstanding receivers to throw to, including Jared Badgett, Trace Wicks, and tight ends Damian Banderob and Tristun Hiil.
Tefft is hoping that group of receivers will help St. Maries achieve more explosive plays in the passing game this year. "We need to create more chunk plays," Tefft said.
The running game will be led by juniors Trey Gibson and Wesley Banderob. They'll run behind an offensive line that is a work in progress after losing their heart and soul (Colby Renner and Adam Rouse) to graduation.
The defense is filled with the same amount of question marks as the offesne, but Tefft says, "We have kids that love to fly around and hit, so time will tell (how good we can be.)"
Damian Banderob, Landon Warren and Hill will anchor the defensive line. Gibson and Wesley Banderob will factor in at linebacker. Badgett and Wicks will lead the secondary.
Adding another wrinkle to the 2022 season is the addition of two new league members. Kellogg and Priest River have dropped down from the 3A classification, and will join Grangeville, Orofino and St. Maries to form a solid Central Idaho League.
The Lumberjacks will play a pair of Washington schools (Riverside and Freeman) before traveling to Kellogg for their first CIL contest on September 16th.
"I think having success early in the season will be very important," Tefft concluded. "The league has changed and we need to have some positives to build on from the non-league schedule."