Jeb Harrison may be the second-most informed person alive when it comes to the history of football at Snake River High School.
No. 1? His father.
So Harrison didn’t have to think for long about the significance of last year’s 2-6 season. He said it was the first year the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs since 1988, when the team went winless under first-year head coach Tom Harrison.
But soon after, the elder Harrison and Snake River built a 3A football kingdom in Thomas, winning eight state titles between 1990 and 2002. Jeff Dalley added to the haul with blue trophies in 2011 and 2014.
Understandably, expectations for Snake River are always high, and maybe unfairly so for Jeb. He was a player on two of those Tom Harrison-led state championship teams and is the heir apparent as the son of one of the most storied prep football coaches in Idaho.
Jeb understands all of that. If a loss in the 2017 state championship game wasn’t good enough, 2-6 sure wasn’t, either.
“It definitely is not expected or welcomed in Snake River to go 2-6,” Jeb Harrison said. “It’s not acceptable to me or the community. Sometimes, you have down years, and we had a really small senior class that probably wasn’t varsity ready.”
Despite the uncharacteristic season in 2018, Jeb said he never saw signs of toxicity among players — “it never went to the dark side.” Both of the team’s wins came against playoff teams, including a 34-27 win at 4A playoff-bound Preston to end the season.
The Panthers hope to build on that in 2019 with an experienced roster and returning starters all over the field. Leading the way is senior running back Treyton Young, who has racked up 1,940 yards rushing and 17 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons. He’s one of seven returning all-conference players — five of whom are seniors.
Snake River rostered 29 sophomores and juniors last season, meaning the team could return close to 30 upperclassmen for 2019.
“This is the most excited I’ve been to start a season at Snake River,” Jeb Harrison said. “We finally have kids who have been in the program for four years.”
Harrison said the Panthers’ offense will look a bit different this season, thanks to the addition of Jake Monahan as offensive coordinator. Monahan was Shelley’s head coach from 2015-18 and took the Russets to a state runner-up finish in 2016.
Harrison said teaming with Monahan will make Snake River’s offense more explosive by utilizing the team’s dynamic playmakers.
“Jake was more of a spread, throw-it-around offense. I was more of a run-over-you offense,” Harrison said. “I think we’ve combined them nicely to take some of his stuff, some of my stuff, and we can throw it really well and we can flat run over you.”
Taking the snaps at quarterback will either be junior Mitch Lindsay or sophomore Cole Gilbert. Lindsay earned second-team all-conference honors last year as a sophomore, while Gilbert played with the junior varsity squad as a freshman.
“Very smart player,” Harrison said of Lindsay. “Throws a really nice ball. He was able to make varsity-level throws and he was able to make good decisions on the run and extend plays.”
Harrison added of Gilbert: “Very talented. Big and strong dairy farmer who can throw it a country mile.”
Whoever wins the job will benefit from the services of 6-foot-2 tight end Kolby Cox and 6-foot-2 wide receiver Trey Poulter. Cox was a first-team all-league pick in 2018, while Poulter earned second-team honors.
Perhaps the largest challenge facing Snake River is its nine-game schedule that features no bye weeks. The Panthers play five teams that advanced to the state quarterfinals or semifinals last season.
Two opponents hail from Idaho’s 2A classification. Snake River hardly ever schedules 2A opponents, Harrison said, but did this season to attempt to help boost its RPI. The Panthers felt robbed of a playoff berth in 2018, when Teton earned the RPI-based at-large bid over Snake River, despite the teams having equal win totals and Snake winning the head-to-head matchup.
“Snake River hasn’t played 2A schools in a long time,” Harrison said. “We did that 100%, solely because of the RPI system.”