Countdown to Kickoff: Raft River will return to smashmouth football

MALTA, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — After a quarterfinal appearance in 2022, the Raft River football team will have a bunch of new faces in 2023.

Head Coach Chad Evans said only one player will be starting in the same position as last year. Two other returning starters will be playing new positions.

One of those new-position guys is Tanner Tracy, who will fill the quarterback role left open by the graduating Tate Whitaker.

With a young offensive line last season, along with Whitaker’s strong arm, the Trojans tossed it around. This season, it’s all about getting back to the roots.

“I think we’re going to back to some old Raft River, run over top of you, ground and pound type of football,” Evans said.

The offensive line is bigger and better this year, and guys like Kai Ward, Blake Tracy, and McCoy Spencer will benefit on the ground.

The goal for the team from Malta is to always win a state championship, but they know they have to go through Cassia County rival and three-time defending state champ Oakley to get there.

“Beat Oakley, that’s my big goal, and if we can move up to the state level and then move up in that, that’s definitely a goal, but first thing’s first, beat Oakley,” Talon Taylor said.

Raft River will host Oakley on September 15, but the Trojans get their season started at Tri-Valley at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Copyright 2023 KMVT. All rights reserved.