Shelley High School
RUSSETS BLANK PANTHERS; PITCH THIRD SHOUTOUT IN FOUR GAMES
(Moreland, ID)
The Snake River Panthers (7-3) exhaused every option available to them in an effort to slow down the rolling Shelley Russets (9-1). They opted to play the game at home on Saturday and in the early afternoon hoping that Mother Nature would throw up a couple of additional roadblocks like rain or better yet, snow.
But, as the old adage goes, "never trust the weather in Southeast Idaho", which pitted the #1 ranked Russets against the Panthers in balmy, sunny conditions fit for any football team in America.
"I'm not sure we could have asked for better conditions," said Russet Head Coach Travis Hobson. "It was sunny and warm, the fans came out in droves, the tailgate party was a hit. I'll be honest, it took me back to college football Saturday. It was awesome!"
Not only were the conditions "awesome", but the play of the Russet defense was at least awesome, holding the number one ranked team from the Southeast Idaho Conference to no points, in fact, the Panthers scarcely even threatened to score.
"I'd like to see the play-by-play, film and stats to be sure, but I don't think they ever crossed the 20 yard line," said Hobson, "if they did it couldn't have been but one time."
A number of Russets pitched in for the stellar defensive effort, led primarily by defensive back Taylor Lund, who recorded 6 tackles (3 for a loss) and interception and one batted down pass.
"Taylor's play was about as good as it has been on this side of the ball all year," said Hobson.
Other Russet defenders that played exceptional games were Corbin Hanson and Haydyn Walker, in his first game since his thumb surgery. Each had 6 tackles and Hanson had two for losses.
The Russets, who have rolled off 7 straight wins will now turn to Holt Arena, a venue they are exceptionally comfortable with for the semi-final tilt with the Gooding Senators--a rematch from the 2012 semi-finals where the Russets won 47-7 at Gooding.
"There's no question Gooding has 'circled' this game for a year now," explained Hobson. "They're a tough team and they run the ball about as well as anyone we have faced. They feel a lot like Manti (UT) to me. They're going ot be bigger than us on the whole and while they don't do a ton of things, what they do, they do well. It'll be a challege our boys will have to rise to."
The game versus Gooding will be Saturday, November 16 at Holt Arena in Pocatello. It will be the fourth game in a quadruple-header. It will be broadcast on idahosports.com.
RUSSETS CRUISE TO PLAYOFF VICTORY; PUMMEL AMERICAN FALLS 52-0
(Pocatello, ID)
At Idaho State's Holt Arena on a chilly Halloween night, the Shelley Russets (8-1) moved one step closer to a second state championship by taking down the 2-7 American Falls Beavers in convincing 52-0 fashion.
The Shelley Russets elected to pull the starters early in an effort to preserve and maintain long term health, but before doing so jumped out to a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter when mass substitutions were made.
"We aren't too naieve to believe that the matchup was exactly even," explained Shelley Head Coach Travis Hobson, "but we prepared like this was the Super Bowl and planned to play four tough quarters. It just so happened that the opportunity presented itself to get some younger kids some quality time and ensure the longevity of our ones."
Shelley started tuening numbers on the scoreboard within the first couple of minutes after capitalizing on a Beaver fumble just over a minute into the game. Junior running back Tyler Bean punched in the first score of the night with 10:06 still sitting on the clock.
Within the next 10 minutes, quarterback Kaden Schmitt passed for two more TDs--one each to Cameron Waite and Taylor Lund and Randy Bauer ran one more in.
"I'll be honest, it was over pretty quick," said Hobson. "We just wanted to get out of there without getting anybody from either side seriously hurt."
Sophomores Johnny Carranza and Rollin Suthering found rare playoff paydirt later in the game and freshman quarterback Bryon Leckington impressed in the second half with his playmaking abilites on the ground and in the air.
Carranza led all rushers with 102 yards on 7 carries.
The Russets will face the winner of the Snake River/Teton game Saturday afternoon at a date and time to be determined after the game. Stay tuned for additional details.
RUSSETS WIN MRC TITLE; DOWN TETON 42-29
(Shelley, ID)
For the second time in as many years, the Shelley Russets football team took home the blue MRC Champions trophy in dominant fashion over 5th ranked Teton Redskins.
"This on was special to us," said Shelley Head Coahc Travis Hobson. "We understaood all too well what this game represented, what was at stake and how badly Teton was gunning for us. It was a quality win and a great way to send off a great class of seniors."
Quarterback Kaden Schmitt perhaps had his single best performance of the season accounting for over 400 yards in the game. He was a dangerous dual-threat weapon throughout the game and torched the Redskins for 87 yards andd 2 touchdowns on the ground and another 334 yards and 4 more touchdowns through the air--421 yards to be precise.
"Schmitt did his part, no doubt, and he deserves a lot of credit for his performance," said Hobson. "But make no mistake, he had a number of supporters that made him look very good tonight.
In addition to fantastic line play, senior wide receiver Josh Peterson accounted for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night. Peterson was only one of Schmitt's 8 downfield targets.
"I thought he did a good job of seeing the field and the receivers did an even better job of exposing holes in coverage and getting to the soft spots of the defense," said Hobson.
As well as the offense played, however, it was the defense that stole the show early virtually stopping the vaunted Teton rushing attack dead in the water. Until the starters were pulled late in the second quarter, then in wholesale fashion midway through the third, the Shelley defense held Teton to less than 80 yards and did so without star linebacker, Haydyn Walker, sidelined with a broken thumb.
"I'm not sure I could have been more proud of the defense than I was tonight," said Hobson. "(Dakota) Robison stepped in the signall caller role almost seamlessly and the defensive line was extremely tough tonight. My hat's off to all of them."
Up next for both teams is the 3A State playoffs. The Russets (7-1, 3-0) will face American Falls (2-6, 1-2) from the neighboring 5th disrtict. The game will be played Halloween night at 8:45 on ISU's Holt Arena turf.
Meanwhile, Teton (6-2, 1-2) will face Snake River Saturday November 2 at Snake River's Harrison Field. Kickoff will be at 3:00pm.
SHELLEY RUNS ROUGHSHOD ON MRC FOE; DEFEATS SOUTH 49-0
(Saint Anthony, ID)
In the second of three straight conference tilts, the Shelley Russets took to the ground to pound out a 49-0 shutout over South Fremont. The win moves the Russets to 6-1 and in a clear position to take the outright Mountain Rivers Conference title for the second year in a row.
"I think the boys prepared well, the coaches had a great game plan and just about everything came together according to plan," explained Shelley Head Coach Travis Hobson.
Shelley spent the bulk of the game continuing to develop their run game behind a stable of running backs. In all, 8 Russets combined for a total of 267 yards on 43 attempts with 3 touchdowns.
The running back corps was led by junior running back Tyler Bean, who accounted for 66 yards and one of the three t9ouchdowns. Jason Hathaway and Randy Bauer also found pay dirt in the game.
Quarterback Kaden Schmitt found a large portion of success in the limited amount of reps he was able to get, but Hobson admits, his statistical bottom line was hampered by the tempered play calling.
"You know, at some point, you have to, as coaches, back the dogs off a little bit," said Hobson. "Once the game was securely in hand, it was the right thing to do--to work on some things to get us better and get a lot of players some quality time on the field."
The Shelley Russets (6-1) will face Teton (6-1) on Thursday for the final home game of the season. The Teton game will be senior night and will feature a class of 24 seniors. Should the Russets pull out hte victory, they will be awarded with their second conference title in as many years and claim the top seed in playoffs from the 6th district, which hosts the third place team from district 5.
RUSSETS TAKE DRIVER'S SEAT IN CONFERENCE RACE; BEAT DIGGERS 27-8
(Sugar City, ID)
On a balanced offensive effort and bend-not-break defensive philosophy--including seven 4th down stops, the Shelley Russets overcame a spirited and determined Sugar-Salem football squad 27-8.
"It was one of those games where we knew they would be excited to have Shelley come to town," said Head Coach Travis Hobson. "We weren't ignorant of what was being said in the papers. We expected them to start hot and we planned to weather the storm."
While the Diggers started hot as planned, the cold start from the Russets put them in a position of playing from behind nearly right out of the gate. After winning the coin toss and taking the ball, the Russets drive sputtered shortly after and turned the ball over on downs.
Shortly after taking possession, Sugar's Jordan Godby took the ball 35 yards for the only Digger touchdown on the night. Godby proved to be an exceptional running back and took the Shelley defense for 199 yards on 21 carries.
"He's a good one," Hobson explained. "Give the kid some credit. He runs hard and has good balance and is fast to boot. But, when push comes to shove, stats are nice but scores matter."
The Russets started to gain some momentum in the second quarter behind a more physical defense and three 4th down stops, and scored two touchdowns; one from Randy Bauer on the ground and one from a Schmitt-to-Peterson connection near the half.
"I felt like our offense, once they got rolling, was able to balance the defense out and start turning numbers on the scoreboard," said Hobson.
In all, Dalton Nelson led all receivers with 50 yards on 4 catches and Josh Peterson had theo nly receiving touchdown.
Randy Bauer was the Russets' top rusher with 57 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Additionally, Jacob Sutherin and Jason Hathaway both also found paydirt in the second half.
Haydyn Walker again led all Shelley defenders with 12 tackles. Taylor Lund added another interception fora total of 5 on the season.
The Russets (5-1, 1-0), currently ranked number one in the state media polls will continue conference play at South Fremont (3-3, 0-1). Meanwhile, Sugar-Salem (4-2, 0-1) will face 4th ranked Teton (6-0, 1-0) at Driggs in a pivotal Mountain Rivers Conference matchup.
RUSSETS SHUT DOWN PRESTON IN EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED WIN
(Preston, ID)
The Shelley Russets moved to 4-1 on the season after putting up 21 second half points in a game somewhat overshadowed by the sudden and unexpected death of one of the Russets' biggest fans, Coach Hobson's mother, June.
In what was clearly an emotional game for Coach Hobson, the Russet boys played their hearts out for his loss and wore their hearts on their helmets in the form a helmet heart decal with the initials "JH" on it.
"I arrived to the game late from Boise," explained Coach Hobson, "and when I walked into the locker room and saw the stickers on the helmets, I'll be right honest, I couldn't stay composed. It was one of the most difficult, yet touching moments of my life."
The Russets played with renewed vigor and passion in the 35-7 drubbing of 4A Preston and for the second game in a row, quarterback Kaden Schmitt led the way.
Schmitt tallied 231 yards passing (16-29) with five touchdowns and one interception. He also accounted for and led all rushers with 82 yards on the ground.
"Kaden in playing pretty well right now and I think we're best suited to let him run free a little bit," said Coach Hobson. "He's making good decisions, seeing the field well and scrambling into good positions. When he's doing all of that, we're going to be just fine."
Josh Peterson and Dalton Nelson continued to be Schmitt's favorite targets and Peterson even hauled in a spectacular diving touchdown catch right before the halftime bell rang.
"It was neat to see that play develop and work. Coach Hadley called the right play at the right time, and the kids executed it very well," explained Hobson.
But, while the game seemed to go the way of the Russets, a heavy heart was felt by all of the Russet players, coaches, parernts and fans.
"There's no doubt it was difficult to deal with given the sudden nature of it all," said Hobson. "But my boys made me proud tonight. I'm proud of the coaches for taking care of business when I couldn't be there and the support my family and I feel from the Russet faithful has been palpable. We're so sincerely grateful for the love and support in a very difficult time."
The Russets (4-1) will now begin conference play at Sugar-Salem (4-1) in a Mountain Rivers Conference tilt Friday at 7pm, while the Indians will face Minico High School.
Russets Get Back to Winning; Down 4A Pocatello 41-14
(Shelley, ID)
The Shelley Russets, fresh off a reeling loss at Manti (UT), played arguably their most physical and dominant game yet, defeating the Pocatello Indians by a 27 point margin.
Most of the offensive producation came on the shoulders on emerging quarterback Kaden Schmitt, who accounted for 308 yards total and five of six total touchdowns.
"I thought Kaden took to loss to Manti seriously," explained Shelley Head Coach Travis Hobson. "He spent his time in the film room and at practice and got noticably better tonight. I'm particularly proud of his efforts."
Schmitt, in addition to leading all rushers with 115 yards on 7 carries, found 6 different receivers for a combined 191 yards. Josh Peterson led the way with 69 yards on 4 receptions and two touchdowns. Dalton Nelson also added another 3 catches for 73 yards.
"That was about as good as we have looked, offensively this year, and It came against a very big and physical defense," said Coach Hobson.
Pocatello, uncharacteristlcally gained the majority of its yardage through the air, however, the total Indian production was limited to 169 yards and one late touchdown.
"Hats off to the defense, yet again. They played tremendous," said Hobson.
The Russets (3-1) will begin a three game road strech facing their final non-conference opponent, the Prestion Indians (2-2) before digging into the critical final three games of the season. Pocatello (1-3) will face cross-town rival Highland in the Balck and Blue Bowl.
SHELLEY FALLS AT MANTI, UT UNDER RECORD RAINFALL
(Manti, UT)
The Shelley Russets were caught with a left hook Friday night by the two-time defending Utah state champions Manti Templars and a right hook by Mother Nature herself. In what's now being dubbed as the "Manti Monsoon", the Russets came away a bus full of soaked gear, muddy uniforms and a 2-1 record courtesy of a 21-0 shutout after a near two-hour lightning delay.
"We're not going to make excuses here; we had a poor showing tonight, period," explained Coach Hobson. "We got caught up with the weather, the delayed start time, the road trip and lost sight of the task at hand--playing a Utah powerhouse on their turf."
Momentum was a decisive advantage for the Templars when after a blocked punt by the Shelley defense, the Russet offense could not capitalize and score from two yards out.
"That goal line stand really jumped up and bit us. It very well could have been the deciding factor in the game, and it was in the first quarter," said Coach Hobson.
Things seemed to roll in a down hill direction from there as the Russet offense struggled to move the ball. If it wasn't fumbled snaps, dropped passes or fumbles in open space, it was the Manti defense stepping up with big plays.
"It just felt like everytime we got rolling, something took the air out of our sails," sayd Hobson. "We can't take away anything from them; they are a good ball club, and they executed when we didn't--that's what good teams do. But we didn't help ourselves out much. Aside from the defense playing them tough, there's not a lot of 'warm-fuzzy feelings' right now."
Coach Hobson is hopeful that in a loss to an elite out-of-state football team, his team will regroup, identify the errors and correct them by the time 4A Pocatello (1-2) comes to Shelley (2-1) next week for homecoming.
RUSSETS MOVE TO 2-0 WITH 28-7 WIN OVER JEROME
(Shelley, ID)
The Shelley Russets were able to overcome a sluggish offensive start to take down the 4A Jerome Tigers 28-7 at Russet Stadium. The win moves the Russets to 2-0.
The win, however, did not come easy and required a number of halftime adjustments. "We didn't come out exceptionally well offensively," noted Coach Hobson. "Our defense kept the offense in the game. They were an awful lot more physical than we expected them to be."
The Tigers' physical play and long drives limited the overall offensive production. The Russets were held under 300 yards of total offense, but scored when the opportunities presented themselves. Randy Bauer led all rushers with 35 yards on 8 carries and Tyler Bean added 30 more with two touchdown carries. In the air, Cameron Waite led all recievers with 40 yards receiving on three catches. In all, 7 Russets contributed in the run game while quarterback Kaden Schmitt found six different targets in the passing game.
Defensively, Haydyn Walker made moving the ball difficult for Jerome with 10 tackles and a hurry. Fellow inside linebacker, Dakota Robison tallied 13 tackles. However it was Taylor Lund who stole the defensive show with two interceptions and four tackles, one for a major loss.
"Give the credit to the defense for a lights out effort tonight. That was a good football team over there and our defense made things tough for them all night. I don't know if I could be any happier with the defense right now," said Hobson.
The Russets (2-0) will next face a long road trip to two-time defending state champion, Manti, Utah. Jerome (1-1) will face the top-ranked Bishop Kelly Knights in Boise.
Shelley rolls over West Jordan, Utah, 28-6
BY JASON ENES
Blackfoot Morning News
It was not the start the defending 3A state champion Shelley Russets wanted, but the end result turned out to be just what the Russet faithful wanted.
Russets Claim 2012 State Title
EAGLE — The Shelley High School football team surprised everyone with its 37-10 throttling of Fruitland in Friday’s 3A state championship game.
Shelley blows past Gooding with 40 second-half points
GOODING — Locked in a 7-7 tie at the half, Friday’s 3A state semifinal between the Gooding and Shelley high school football teams was living up to its billing as a battle of the unbeatens.
Russet ‘D’ dominant again, lifts Shelley into semis
POCATELLO – The Shelley High School football team’s defense continued to flex its muscles Friday.
Shelley held defending 3A state champion Snake River to a pair of late touchdowns after the game was already out of hand and the Russets rolled to a 41-14 win in the 3A state quarterfinals at Holt Arena.
Shelley crushes Buhl 60-7
POCATELLO – The Shelley High School football team dominated Buhl in every sense of the word Saturday in a 60-7 win in the first round of the 3A playoffs.
Shelley scored on every possession but one and it out gained Buhl in yards 479-1 before Buhl’s final drive of the game.
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
RUSSETS PUNCH TICKET TO TITLE; DOWN SURGING SENATORS 25-13 AT HOLT ARENA
(Pocatello, ID)
The Shelley Russets (10-1) utilized almost every tool in the proverbial toolbox--most notably their depth, to retain their top-ranked status in Idaho's 3A classification and defeat the Gooding Senators (9-2) in the semi-final tilt at Holt Arena.
Quarterback Kaden Schmitt hit six different targets on the night and connected for touchdowns with four of them (Cameron Waite, Tyler Bean, Skyler Fielding and Taylor Lund). Schmitt also accounted for 64 rushing yards, second only to Randy Bauer, who ran for 93 yards on 11 carries.
"While I'm exceptionally proud for the way we battled out there tonight," explained Head Coach Travis Hobson, "If I'm being totally honest with myself and the boys, we still haven't played our best game. There's still room for improvement, yet."
The Russets faced a very determined and excited opponent in the Senators out of the gate, who were looking to avenge their only loss in the 2012 season. The Russets were forced to punt on the first stalled drive, but were pinned deep in their own territory by a booming punt from SHelley punter, Skyler Fielding.
The subsequent drive from the Senators also resulted in a punt and was returned to the Gooding 25 courtesy of a Jason Hathaway 37-yard punt return.
"It would be fair to say that our special teams had their best game Saturday," said Hobson. "Fielding and Hathaway were making plays out there and keeping our gears turning."
Once the ball was back in Schmitt's hands, he commandeered a 4 play 26-yard drive capped by a 4th down conversion to Tyler Bean unguarded in the back corner of the endzone.
The next opportunity the Senators had from scrimmage, running back Josh Finlay beat the Russets to the edge and burst 81 yards for a touchdown that put the Senators on top 7-6.
But the remainder of the game would be dominated by the Corbin Hanson-led Shelley defense that held hte bruising Gooding rushing attack to a total of 171 yards (including the 81 yard Finlay run).
Hanson led all Shelley defenders with 9 tackles, 3 for a loss and 2 sacks. Linclon Archibald added another four tackles and a rare lineman interception. Trevor Smith and Koltin Murphy also secured the middle against Division I recruit Cole McGinnis.
"I think our guys were a little shocked that Finlay was as fast as he was, but when things get heated, our defense has shown that they can lock things down in a hurry," said Hobson.
"Overall, I was extremely proud of all of the players tonight," Hobson added. "This time of year, players get banged up a little bit, some guys are getting less playing time and practice just becomes a bit of a grind. I'm proud of my team and every one of my players and coaches. This was a good win against a quality opponent."
The win secures the Russets a chance to repeat as 3A State Champions, a feat never before accomplished at Shelley High School, but the challenge icomes against a familiar and daunting foe in Fruitland High School (10-1), who has been running roughshod over its opponents since it's only loss midway through their season against Homedale; a loss they avenged this weekend in the semi-finals.
"Fruitland is good, plain and simple," said Hobson. "They will be the most difficult team to beat that we will have played all year long. They're big, they're fast, they're physical. They're well coached and disciplined. They have tradition and momentum and from everything I can gather, they're healthy. It's going to be a dog-fight and a coin-flip for the winner."
The game will be played on Saturday at Idaho State's Holt Arena, the middle installment of a triple header. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 and will be broadcast on www.idahosports.com if you cannot attend. Coach Hobson is calling on all fans to black out the dome.
2013 Schedule
8/30 W. Jordan, UT (ISU)
9/6 Jerome
9/13 @ Manti, UT
9/20 Pocatello
9/27 Bye
10/4 @ Preston
10/11 @ Sugar
10/18 @ South
10/24 Teton (Thurs.)
10/31 American Falls (Play-in Game @ISU)
11/9 @ Snake River (Quarter Finals)
11/16 Gooding (Semi-Finals @ISU)
11/23 Fruitland (State Championship @ISU)
Junior Varsity
8/29 Bye
9/5 @ Jerome
9/13 @ Manti, UT
9/19 @ Pocatello
9/27 @ Salmon Varsity
10/3 Preston
10/10 Sugar-Salem
10/17 South Fremont
10/23 @ Teton
Freshmen
9/5 @ Jerome
9/12 Bye
9/19 @ Pocatello
9/26 @ Snake River
10/3 Preston
10/10 Sugar-Salem
10/17 South Fremont
10/23 @ Teton
10/31 @ Idaho Falls
