Rigby gets big night from quarterback Evan Freeman, a former All-State receiver, in Rumble win

POCATELLO — The Rigby Trojans, winners of back-to-back 6A state championships, came into the 2026 season with holes at several key spots.

Of the eight Trojans who were All-State selections last year, seven were seniors, including Second-Team quarterback Jake Flowers. Flowers’ departure left, perhaps, the biggest hole for Rigby and head coach Armando Gonzalez.

If their Rocky Mountain Rumble 27-16 victory over the Farmington Phoenix (UT) is any sign of the season to come, the Trojans have their quarterback, in none other than Evan Freeman, who was a Second-Team All-State selection last year at wide receiver.

Freeman was potent both on the ground and through the air Friday at Idaho State University’s ICCU Dome, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and running for another.

While Freeman, a senior, had spent his high school career until this year at wide receiver, voted by 6A coaches across the state as one of the best a year ago, Gonzalez said, he is not new to the quarterback position. Freeman, Gonzalez said, grew up playing quarterback.

“He waited his time — he loved playing receiver — but we asked him this year to make the transition,” Gonzalez said after the game, noting that Freeman is still a work in progress as a quarterback. “He’s getting better every day.”

As for the results as a whole, Gonzalez said Rigby passed its “first big test of the season,” beating the Phoenix.

“We came out on top, but I told the kids that even if we didn’t, it didn’t matter — we got out of the football game what we needed to,” Gonzalez told EastIdahoSports.com.

After having Rigby’s first two offensive possessions stall out, resulting in a 3-0 lead, Freeman finished his team’s third drive with a 20-yard touchdown throw to senior wide receiver Statton Butikofer.

The next time the Trojans had the ball, they faced a third-and-four near midfield. But Freeman once again refused to let his team’s drive stall. The senior signal-caller dropped back to pass but could not find an open receiver. He did, however, find a small crease in the Farmington front and darted through it, beating the Phoenix secondary on a 56-yard touchdown run.

“I’m always told to use my legs, my athleticism,” Freeman said after the game. “You just keep on running and the next thing you know, you make it to the end zone. … You just keep on going and have the mentality that you’re faster than everybody else.”

Freeman finished the game with 114 rushing yards on 15 carries. He added 87 yards and two touchdowns through the air, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts.

Senior Statton Butikofer was on the receiving end of both scoring tosses.

Asked what he thought of his team’s performance, the first-year quarterback echoed his coach’s sentiment: there were some things in need of fixing, but the win was solid overall.

“We had some miscues on offense that we’ve got to clean up, that’ll come with reps — we’ve got, basically, a brand new O line,” Freeman said. “Our defense stepped up. Overall, I think it was a great team win.”

Defensively, the Trojans bent but didn’t break. In the first half, the Rigby secondary was exposed on comeback patterns outside the hashes on both sides of the field. But aside from a long touchdown pass — again, near the sideline — the Phoenix could not turn big yardage into touchdowns, as Rigby went into the half up 17-13.

The Rigby defense tightened up, forcing the ball over the middle and shutting down Farmington’s passing game in the second half. Gonzalez said it was a simple adjustment — switching from zone to man.

“They pretty much abandoned the run,” the coach said of Farmington’s offense. “If they’re going to abandon the run, that makes it much easier on us. … We have guys that can cover and play the ball.”

The Trojan defense allowed just three points in the second half, while Freeman led the offense on a pair of scoring drives — locking up the victory on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Butikofer with under two minutes to play.

Gonzalez said after the game that he told his team to expect the competition to “turn up the heat,” but that this win is fuel they can use going forward.

Freeman said the same, adding that his team is currently not thinking about winning a third consecutive state championship. Instead, they want to keep getting better in preparation for a tough conference schedule. Rigby’s focus, he said, is on winning the conference and beating the team up north (the Madison Bobcats), then they will see what happens.