Written by: Will Hoenike
For the first time since the 2016 season, the Clark County Bobcats will suit up and play football in 2022.
One of the smallest schools in the Idaho High School Activities Association with under 40 high school students, the community of Dubois (Clark County’s hometown located north of Rexburg in eastern Idaho) has been creative in its attempts to field a team. They’ve tried 6-man football, they’ve competed in a league in nearby Montana. But, for the last five years, they’ve been unable to field a team.
This year, they’re going to give it a go under first-year head coach Tyson Schwartz. It will be a hybrid schedule consisting of varsity and junior varsity games. The squad’s first two games, both on the road, will be contests against Castleford’s JV (September 2) and, player-availability permitting, Challis/Mackay’s JV (September 9). After that, the team will return home for three games, including the home finale on October 7 against Richfield in a JV-level game before wrapping up the season the following week against Lima, Montana.
You don’t have to go too far into the record books to find success for the Bobcats. In 2015, the team won seven games, captured the district title, and advanced to the 1A Division 2 state playoffs. So there is some history of success at Clark County. It may take a couple of years to build the program back up but there is reason to believe success can come again.