Preseason Coaches Poll:
1. Kimberly
2. Gooding
T-3. Filer
T-3. Wood River
Written by: Brandon Baney
The Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference looks slightly different in 2026, as longtime member Buhl has moved down to the 3A Canyon Conference due to lower-than-expected enrollment numbers.
The Indians finished second behind Kimberly in 2025, and with the Bulldogs seemingly reloading to defend their SCIC title, the question becomes: who takes Buhl’s place right behind Kimberly?
Gooding seems best-equipped to handle the job, although Filer and Wood River have quietly been building sturdy programs as well.
KIMBERLY
Ask any Kimberly fan about their recent string of success and they’ll tell you: it’s nice and all, but what we really want is that blue trophy that’s awarded to the state champs.
The Bulldogs came painstakingly close to finally achieving that goal for the first time in school history last year, but fell in the 4A championship game to Homedale, 29-21.
Do-it-all senior quarterback MacRaye Bruning graduated, along with defensive standouts Johnny Millenkamp at linebacker and Kenny Hernandez in the secondary. But relatively speaking, Kimberly brings back a lot of their key pieces from that runner-up team.
The list starts with a pair of Division I signees: wide receiver/defensive back Joe Barrett (Air Force commit) and tight end/linebacker Titus Osterman (Washington commit).
In terms of who will be throwing those D1 signees the ball, it’s an open competition between juniors Gunner Beckstead and Al Santos. Both saw playing time last year as Bruning missed half of the season with an injury.
“We have a couple of good options at QB,” said Kimberly coach Joe Dille. “We like to get the ball to our playmakers, and Joe Barrett is going to attract a lot of attention, which will open up other kids to make plays.”
Those “other kids” include a trio of juniors: Ben Muchow, Braxton Dille and Brent Florence. Beckstead could also play wide receiver if he isn’t quarterbacking the offense.
Up front, Kimberly will lean on returning All-State selection Brandon Elizondo and All-SCIC honoree Grayson Widman. Both are seniors.
Defensively, Kimberly returns its entire starting line, which allows Dille to throw several wrinkles in. “We will bounce between a three (man) and four (man) front,” Dille said.
Junior Kaden Dille was an All-State defensive tackle as a sophomore, and is joined by senior Jack Watson and junior Hyrum Mitton up front.
“With the addition of a few kids, we should be stout up front,” said Dille. “Our linebackers will be good and athletic, and our secondary has some fast, athletic, football-savvy kids.”
Osterman will be flanked by senior Monroe Whitten and juniors Caleb Okelberry and Wylie Peterson at linebacker, while Barrett and Beckstead will anchor the secondary.
Kimberly has scheduled aggressively in 2026, as they’ll play the other three semifinalists from last year’s 4A playoffs (Fruitland, Sugar-Salem and Homedale). They also take on Snake River, Teton and Gooding (all three made the 4A playoffs last year), and perennial Utah power Layton Christian.
“We need to get our juniors dialed in early,” Dille concluded. “They’re great kids and have a lot of potential. If kids can trust the process, we should have a successful season.”
GOODING
As Jon Helmandollar prepares for his second season as Gooding’s head coach, he can’t help but feel that this year could be a special one for the Senators.
The excitement starts with senior quarterback/defensive back/kicker/punter Cougar Stockham. In 2025, Stockham threw for 1,682 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushed for 373 yards and a score, led all 4A kickers in field goals with a long of 45 yards, went 22-for-30 on extra point attempts, and averaged 35 net yards per punt.
“Cougar is one of the most amazing athletes I have ever seen, coached, or been around,” gushed Helmandollar. “Anytime he has the ball in his hands, great things happen. He is the leader of our offense, and is so explosive, both on the ground and through the air.”
Stockham will be joined by junior Ezra Gillette at running back. Gillette split carries with since-graduated Rio Curtis last season, and still managed to run for 602 yards and five touchdowns. Gillette averaged 7.3 yards per carry, and Helmandollar believes he’s ready for the workhorse role in 2026.
At wide receiver, seniors Bridger Pope and Cason Page will lead the way. Pope missed three games with an injury last season, but returned in time to torch Snake River in the playoffs with nine receptions for 191 yards and three TDs. “Bridger has had an amazing summer and is ready for a breakout season,” said Helmandollar.
Junior Ike Scoffield is projected to start at tight end, while junior Dan Morris will handle the H-back position. The offensive line will feature seniors Hayden Ward and Bendt Anhder, along with juniors Evan Mendoza and Kanin Day. Mendoza is the lone returning starter, and will transition from guard to center. “He is the communicator of our offense up front, so he’s a vital piece to what we do on offense,” said Helmandollar.
Ward would have been another returning starter this year, but “Hayden missed last season due to a knee injury, and we really missed him last season,” said Helmandollar. “Hayden is a difference maker for us on both sides of the ball.”
Ward and several others are expected to go both ways and contribute on defense, as well. Ward, Mendoza and Day will play inside, while Anhder and junior Jax Lopes will start at defensive end. “Jax has come a long way in our program,” said Helmandollar. “He really started to buy in to our program this summer through his work in the weight room, and he showed up to over 90 percent of our summer workouts.”
Gillette and Morris will anchor the linebacking corps, while Stockham, Pope, Page and junior Raiden Johnson are expected to start in the secondary. “Cason is the communicator of our defense from the free safety position,” said Helmandollar. “He had 50 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble last season.”
With an entire summer in the weight room, and increased depth overall, it’s not hard to see why Gooding fans are so excited for this season. “We have talent at all the speed/skill positions,” said Helmandollar. “We can be one of the most explosive teams in the state if we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
He added, “We are very unselfish as a team, with players starting to really buy into the team-first motto. We have amazing kids both on and off the field!”
FILER
The Wildcats piled up the points early in 2025, starting 4-1 and outscoring their opponents 248 to 35.
But once conference play began, the Wildcats struggled to maintain their momentum, finishing 0-3 in SCIC play and 1-3 overall during the second half of the season.
A 30-22 setback to Gooding, coupled with an 18-12 loss to Buhl in the regular season finale sealed their fate: despite a 5-4 record overall, an at-large berth to the playoffs was just beyond their grasp.
15 seniors graduated, so second-year head coach Aaron Rife will have to rely on a relatively new group of Wildcats to carry the torch forward in 2026.
Two pillars that Rife will lean on this year are senior running back Jarrett Mai and senior tight end Tristen Patterson. Mai rushed for 801 yards and nine touchdowns a year ago, and averaged 8.5 yards per carry. Patterson caught ten passes for 160 yards and a score, and also has experience at quarterback.
Filer’s season begins with traditional 3A power Declo on Friday, August 21.
WOOD RIVER
In 2022, Wood River successfully petitioned with the state to move down a level in an effort to try and rebuild their program, which had become non-competitive. With the enrollment of a 5A school, the Wolverines now enter 2026 as a 4A program for the fifth year in a row.
A 19-7 win over Caldwell was Wood River’s only victory last season during a 1-7 campaign.
Shane Carden enters his eighth season as Wood River’s head coach, and after some on-the-job training in 2025, he feels confident that his team’s execution will be sharper this year.
“We have a large group of seniors who got a lot of significant starting time (for the first time in their careers) last year, so they should be comfortable in that position this year,” explained Carden.
“Our QB (Sawyer Morgan) has a full season under his belt as the starter along with both of our tackles (Kolten Marcroft and Owen Schoessler), who are both returning and have started for two seasons,” said Carden. “With Max Fife and Axel Oelerich on the outside, we should be able to make explosive plays happen.”
Morgan is a junior, while the rest of those mentioned are seniors. Marcroft and Schoessler will also play on the defensive line, while Fife and Oelerich hold down starting spots in the secondary.
“Defensively, we have a ton of team speed that should be able to swarm the ball,” said Carden. “With the addition of junior Charlie Reid at linebacker, we should be able to create pressure and make plays on the ball in the back end.”