Last season began as a promising one for Borah. The Lions started the year 4-0 before a six-game losing streak, ending their season in the first round of the playoffs.
Situational football has been a point of emphasis for head coach JQ Kenyon in the offseason, specifically in the final minutes of each half.
“We felt like we lost the situational battles last year, like the last two minutes of halves, in the red zone,” Kenyon said. “That’s where we lost those games because most of those games were one-possession games. If you go back to those games, we either gave up a touchdown at the end of the half or game, or we didn’t convert at the end of the half or the end of the game. We were not very productive in the red zone.”
The lack of execution was most prevalent in their playoff loss to Rocky Mountain, where the Grizzlies had three fewer possessions in the red zone than Borah but still won 30-15. With eight starters back on defense, the hope is they can at least improve on keeping opponents out of the end zone.
Kenyon is switching from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 to highlight the three returning defensive linemen they have.
Junior Mason McKenna, the younger brother of current Boise State defensive lineman and first-team all-state selection last season Trevor McKenna, is hoping to replace some of the production left behind by his brother. Alongside him are Johnny Ceron and Austin Flaherty, both all-conference players last season. All three will also play on the offensive line.
Sophomore center Brennan Earley was called into action for the playoffs last season with the two players above him on the depth chart injured. He impressed so much that he’s slated to start this fall.
Borah is strong in the trenches. How the weapons on offense and the rest of the pieces on defense perform will ultimately determine how the season goes and if they can avoid any more losing streaks like they had last season.
Running back Jevon Nelson was the Offensive Player of the Year in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference River Division last season. With him gone, Josh Wallace and Mason Lott are slated for more carries in the backfield.
On the outside, Oscar Morales and Mason Monteleone return as starting wide receivers. Hendrix Castro will be another featured wide receiver this season.
At quarterback, replacing Jacob Detwiler is Dylan Luekenga. He was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Borah basketball team in the winter and will lead the offense this fall.
It’s expected to be another strong season in the 6A SIC River Division, with Kenyon noting Eagle as the current favorite and Rocky Mountain in the Foothills Division.
“The early front-runners are Eagle and Rocky Mountain in the respective pods,” Kenyon said. “Rocky was the youngest team to make the playoffs last year, I think we were the second youngest. They bring back their star power. Everyone is going to have a hard time stopping them. Eagle loses some big guys, but we’ve seen them and they seem like they’ll be right there again.”
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