Garden Valley Football Team Set for First Game!

By Mike Uhl

The 2011 Garden Valley School "Wolverines" football team will play eight games this year. The first two and last two games will be at home. The middle four will all be on the road.

Garden Valley will face five of the top six players in 1A Division football this year. You will get to see Nathan Black, from Rimrock, all 220 pounds of him, in the first game.

Turn Out To Support Your Team !

The Wolverines open the season Friday, August 26, at 4:00 p.m., on the GV School field. The first opponent, the Rimrock "Raiders", have been picked by the coaches and the Idaho Statesman to finish first in the 1A Big School Division. Rimrock's record last year was 4-5. They still earned a play-off berth, which was the first time since 2000.

I talked with first-year coach Jason Yearsley, who is excited about this year's team. "First," he said, "I would like to thank the parents for their work to get the teams some up-to-date helmets." When asked about the team, he said, "The whole team is pretty solid. They are really fast and the kids can play multiple spots on offense and defense. The whole team looks really good."

Yearsley says that nineteen players turned out this year, with seven seniors, a good mix of juniors and sophomores, and five freshmen who are ready to play.

Are the kids faster this year? According to Yearsley, as a team, they are. "The line is very quick and we are deep; every player can play both ways. It should be a good year."

So how about the first game against the Rimrock Raiders? The coach responded, "They are a solid team. It should be a good game and a test for our team."

See you at the game!