Boise Opens Up Conference Play With A Dominating Win

December 8, 2011, 2:09 pm
Originally on the schedule, all ten teams from the 5A SIC were to open their conference season on Friday night.  For one reason or another, Boise High made the short trek over to Capital last night in a battle of two teams that were picked by the coaches to finish in the bottom half of the coaches poll.

Both teams were slow out of the gate as they both failed to reach double digits by the ed of the first quarter.  Fortunately for Boise High, having four starters coming back from last years squad worked to their advantage in the second quarter as they built a 12 point lead by intermission.  Playing at home seemed to inspire the Eagles as they came out of the locker room and brought the game to within single digits after the third quarter, but the Braves outscored them 18-5 in the 4th quarter for a convincing 56-34 win.

Boise's Joe Simpson led all scores with 20 points and Ben Showalter chipped in 14.  Capital's leading scorer was Gavin Beck with 8 points.

The final non-conference affair between Borah and Bishop Kelly took place on Tuesday night and after watching those two teams in person, I can see why they are both picked to win their respective leagues.  Borah's size will be tough for anyone to defend and Isaiah Wright was an absolute treat to watch and I can understand why he is the talk of the SIC despite being just a sophomore.

We will be broadcasting live at Beef O'Brady's on the corner of Eagle and Overland tomorrow to officially tip-off conference play and the marquee matchup is #1 Borah at the defending state-champion Mountain View Mavericks.  Other games on Friday night are Boise High going to Timberline, Vallivue at Capital, Rocky Mountain at Centennial and Meridian at Eagle. 

Come join us at Beef O'Brady's tomorrow between 4-6 PM and be sure to stay tuned to 630 The Fan for extensive High School basketball coverage throughout the season.

Let the BCS Bashing Begin

December 5, 2011, 10:44 am
After the TCU loss, I thought it was a long shot for Boise State to make it into a BCS game and going into Championship Saturday, there were a bunch of things that needed to happen for the Broncos to sneak in the back door. 

With all of this being said, Houston lost AND TCU did not make the top 16.  What seemed like a long shot at the beginning of the day finally happened and all signs pointed to the Broncos making it to the Sugar Bowl, but that did not happen.  Let me get this out there first.  I am not upset they were left out of the BCS because they did not win their conference.  What I am still trying to figure out is how the Sugar Bowl decided to pick Virginia Tech over the Broncos and Kansas State.

There is a saying that you need to leave a lasting impression on your final game of the year.  Well, the Hokies did the exact opposite.  Coming into the ACC Championship, they were a seven point favorite over a Clemson squad that had looked terrible the last three games.  Despite that, the Hokies were outclassed in every aspect of the game and lost 38-10.

I think the reason behind the Sugar Bowl selecting Virginia Tech over BSU and Kansas State is fairly obvious: for money.  The committee felt that Virginia Tech would travel better to New Orleans and they would bring more money in than the other two options would, which is completely wrong.  To me, this needs to be the beginning of the end of the BCS determining who plays in five bowl games.  If college football wants to keep the system for selecting #1 vs. #2, so be it, but to just put a pool of teams out there for bowl games to pick is ludicrous. 

Again, I am not upset that Boise State got left out of the BCS.  The team that the Sugar Bowl selected ahead of the Broncos is what I have a problem with and in turn, it created a terrible matchup. Take the Cotton Bowl as a prime example.  The Cotton Bowl between #6 Arkansas and #8 Kansas State is a much better game than TWO of the BCS Bowls.  If only #7 Boise State was as lucky to face a quality team.  Their reward for a fantastic season will be to take on 6-6 Arizona State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. 

High School Basketball Season Underway

December 1, 2011, 2:39 pm
This week, I am making a trip to all of the 5A High Schools to meet with the boys basketball coaches.  So far, it seems the consensus is that the Borah Lions are the team to beat.

Cary Cada is in his 18th season at the helm for the Lions basketball program and this year he has a mix of outstanding seniors and one amazing sophomore point guard.  We have talked about Braden Corpus throughout the fall for how well he performed on the gridiron, but he will be an important factor in the success of the basketball team as well.  Fellow senior Ben Tucakovic averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds last year and got off to a great start with 19 points in their season-opening win over Kuna Tuesday night.   Isaiah Wright is already getting Division I offers as a sophomore and was the only freshman in Borah High School's 53 year history to start as a freshman last season.  The Lions will get a nice early season test Tuesday against Bishop Kelly.

I will give a more in-depth preview on #2 Centennial and #3 Mountain View when I visit their head coaches early next week, but #4 Eagle intrigues me.  Tom Seifert in is his 7th season at the helm for the Mustangs and he has a bunch of athletes on his roster.  DJ Dean and Tanner Mangum will be playing Division I football in the next few years, but they will try and end their high school careers with a basketball championship. 

Another team that's under the radar is Vallivue.  Scott Moore will begin his 2nd year leading the Falcons and coming off a 7-11 conference season, his squad that has over 10 seniors, are looking to make the State Tournament in March.

630 The Fan is your source for all High School Sports and we will have extensive coverage throughout the basketball season. 

High School Football All-Conference Teams

November 30, 2011, 1:57 pm
Despite losing in the state championship game to Coeur D'Alene, there is no denying that the Eagle Mustangs were the best team in the 5A SIC all year long, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they had the Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year. 

There couldn't have been a better script written this fall for DJ Dean.  The Boise State recruit was an outstanding player on both sides of the football and that prompted the coaches to vote for him as the Player of the Year.  At first glance, he was a major candidate all year long, but I was afraid after his injury that he would not get the honor.  Fortunately for him, the coaches took his complete body of work to give him the honor.  In the no-brainer move of the year, Tanner Mangum was the Offensive Player of the Year in the 5A SIC.  The quarterback, who will be headed to BYU, averaged over 300 passing yards and 3 touchdowns per game this fall.

The Borah Lions were left on the outside looking in when the playoffs came around, but they still had three players on the first team offense which I thought was very fitting.  Braden Corpus and Cody McKague were a dynamite combination all year long and they both definitely deserve this honor.

When you thought of dominate defense's this fall, the first team that popped in your mind was the Mountain View Mavericks.  Head Coach Judd Benedick had three players on the first team defense and although they fell to Coeur D'Alene in the 1st round of the playoffs, they held the Vikings to their lowest offensive output all season.

Lastly, congratulations to Kip Crofts for winning coach of the year.  The top three teams in the SIC were supposed to make the playoffs all year long, but the Meridian Warriors were the sleeping giant that stayed true to their gameplan all season and were rewarded with a trip to the playoffs and Kip Crofts deserves a lot of the credit.  Other candidates were Todd Simis, who led his team to 9 straight wins after losing their first two, and Paul Peterson who coached the top-ranked team in the SIC all season.

Now its time to move on to the hardwood for the next few months.  Tune in to 630 The Fan the next two weeks for our high school basketball preview. 

Let The Coach Pete Rumors Begin

November 28, 2011, 1:39 pm
It is not uncommon for multiple coaches to lose their jobs the first few days after their season is over, but the number of high profile coaching jobs available this offseason makes it a little easier for Coach Pete to entertain some job offers.

The two jobs that everyone knew would be open were Arizona and Ohio State.  Fortunately for Bronco fans, those two positions have already been filled by two high-profile coaches with Rich Rodriguez taking the Wildcat job and Urban Meyer leaving the broadcast booth to take over the Ohio State program.

Two jobs that just became available today might be a little more attractive for Coach Pete to leave the Treasure Valley.  Despite making the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game, Rick Neuheisel was fired by UCLA and being in the Los Angeles market always is an attractive option.  The other job that is open in the Pac-12 is at Arizona State.  After being at their regular season finale on Friday, there is plenty of Coach Pete rumors circulating and he will be at the top of their list when the search process begins.  The final job that will be out there that is more of a longshot is Penn State.  First off, no one wants to follow the winningest Division I football coach in NCAA history and with all of the negative attention surrounding their football program, I think it is a longshot for Coach Pete to go to Happy Valley.

Whether Bronco fans like it or not, if there ever was a time for Chris Petersen to leave Boise State, it is now.  The team will be in rebuilding mode for a few years and there are plenty of attractive jobs that will be placed on a silver platter for Coach Pete.  The next two months will be very interesting for the long-term future of the Boise State football program.