West Side primed for another run at the banner; Aberdeen looking for some new contributors

EASTERN IDAHO — Last year’s 3A Football State Championship semifinals featured four teams from the state’s east side.

Firth and Aberdeen were eliminated by Declo and eventual champion West Side, respectively. And all four teams figure to play into the classification’s outcome this year, though some schools will have to clear some exceptionally high hurdles along the way.

West Side graduated the reigning 3A Player of the Year, while Aberdeen lost three All-State performers from a year ago. Declo, which competes with District 5 schools despite being part of District 4, lost its longtime star, Gavin Rasmussen.

Meanwhile, Soda Springs, with its first-year head coach, looks to bounce back from a rough 2024 season, and Malad hopes to complete its first winning season in 11 years.

Aberdeen Tigers

Head coach: Derek Jolley, second season
2024 record: 9-2, 4-1
Players to watch: Lupe Ortiz, QB; Erik Alveraz, RB; Adan Valdez, LB/TE; Jose Medel RB

Notes: Second-year head coach Derek Jolley told EastIdahoSports.com that new problems should be expected every season. That being said, the questions he is faced with are difficult to answer.

The Tigers lost offensive lineman Cambell Harris and kicker Guillermo Barrera, both of whom were First-Team All-State performers, and defensive lineman Jaden Nelson, an All-State Second-Teamer, among the dozen or so players who graduated after a 9-2 senior season.

This year, Aberdeen has around 30 players on the roster, including freshmen.

“It’s pretty rough,” Jolley said. “But it’s just something to overcome.”

Still, Jolley expects his team to find a way to win games and make another run at the state title.

“Right now, we’re just, kind of, trying to reload a little. We lost 10-11 guys, a lot of big contributors,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back that will be big contributors, but it’s just about trying to reload and repeat.”

One answer Aberdeen does have for the questions is quarterback Lupe Ortiz. The senior enters his third season as the varsity signal-caller and has developed into a great leader, according to Jolley.

Ortiz will be joined in the backfield by a number of capable backs, including junior Erik Alveraz.

Jose Medel returns after missing all of last season due to injury. He recovered in time to compete in track and field for Aberdeen last year, where he turned in some of the school’s best sprint times.

The Tigers open their season with a rivalry matchup against American Falls at home on Aug. 29.

Declo Hornets

Head coach: Rhett Jones, second season
2024 record: 10-2, 4-1

Malad Dragons

Head coach: Brady Price, second season
2024: 3-6, 2-3
Players to watch: Matt Briscoe, RB; Justin Toone, TE/DE

Notes: The last time the Dragons finished a season with a winning record was in 2014. Second-year head coach Brady Price looks to end that drought.

Malad will replace star running back/wide receiver Brady Showell — who left high school as a two-time baseball state champ — with Matt Briscoe, who saw plenty of action as a junior last year.

The Dragons will open their pursuit of five wins in Lyman, Wyo., against the Lyman Eagles. They opened the 2024 season with a home win over the same Lyman squad. Malad will host Ririe (Sept. 5), Wendell (Oct. 3), Aberdeen (Oct. 10), Declo (Oct. 17) and West Side (Oct. 24) this season.

Soda Springs Cardinals

Head coach: Colby Fangman, first season
2024 record: 0-9, 0-5
Players to watch: Alexander Fangman, QB; Cole Garbett, RB

Notes: Coming off a winless season, Soda Springs has made a change at head coach. The Cardinals’ new leader, Colby Fangman, will have a roster that lost just three seniors last year.

Fangman brings with him three decades of coaching experience and his junior quarterback son, Alexander Fangman.

The new-look Cardinals open their season on Aug. 22 at American Falls.

Wendell Trojans

Head coach: Josh Yon, first season
2024 record: 1-7, 1-4

West Side Pirates

Head coach: Tyson Moser, 17th season
2024 record: 11-1, 4-1 (state champs)
Players to watch: Jaden Fuller, QB; Drake Sage, RB; Cooper Millburn, RB

Notes: The Pirates have finished the last two seasons with a state championship, and there is no reason to believe head coach Tyson Moser — who has been with the team for more than two decades — won’t have his squad ready to make another run at it.

Even with the loss of several key players from a year ago, including 3A All-Idaho Football Player of the Year, running back Crew Sage.

West Side, Moser said, has always been capable of moving on from the loss of top runners due to the system he runs — because, as he explained, the Pirates run a three-back set, meaning there are, at any given time, four or five running backs ready to take first-team reps.

“The benefit there is, we’ve always got backs coming in that have gotten carries,” Moser told EastIdahoSports.com. “That’s the benefit of rotating backs here like we do, we always have somebody coming back that’s got experience.”

The head of the snake — at least one of them — this year will Crew’s younger brother, Drake Sage.

As a sophomore last season, Drake played into the offensive gameplan week in and week out, including in the state championship game against Declo, when he ran for 85 yards and a score.

West Side also returns quarterback Jaden Fuller, whom Moser said has made massive strides since becoming the varsity team’s starting signal-caller just prior to the Pirates’ 49-6 win over Soda Springs last year.

“Having our quarterback back is going to be huge,” Moser said. “He got better and better each week (last year) and was playing really good football through the playoffs.”

The Pirates also return most of their offensive linemen, which Moser added is equally huge.

Their tough 2025 home schedule includes a Sept. 26 showdown with rival Declo, against whom the Pirates have lost in each of the last two regular season only to beat in the championship game.

“We’ll trade that all the time,” Moser said of the exchange.