BOISE, Idaho — It has been 30 years since the Boise High School football team has made it to the state playoffs and for each of the last three seasons, the Brave have gone 2-7.
Last fall, Boise started out strong, knocking off 5A Southern Idaho Conference and cross-town rival Timberline 27-0. The Brave then took down Ridgevue 17-14 on the road, but things quickly fell apart.
“Once we lost one game to Owyhee, especially like a bad loss like that, we lost all over energy," senior wide receiver Cooper Smith said. "We kind of just fell off the edge.”
While the 45-16 loss hurt, the Brave battled throughout 2022, with some of their losses coming by little margin against tough opponents. In three of its final four games, Boise lost by 11 points or less to three state playoff teams in Eagle, Kuna and Vallivue.
This season, head coach Mike Altieri said Boise's key to success this year is finishing.
"That's been our thing all winter, all spring all summer, just finish," Altieri said. "Finishing the rep, finishing the game, finishing the quarter – whatever it is – just finishing."
Smith echoed the theme, telling KTVB he believes the Brave can put together a much-improved performance in 2023, "as long as we maintain our energy."
The Brave lost 35 seniors to graduation, so this year, they are hoping a younger class, and a new quarterback, will help get them into a winning record.
Smith, who played quarterback for the Brave last season, switched to wide receiver this year. Trevor Schoolfield, a talented incoming sophomore, will take over behind center.
"Trevor has excelled and exceeded all of our expectations," Altieri said. "So, we're excited for him. He brings with him a lot of knowledge. He's played quarterback his whole life and plays year-round. We're excited to watch him do his thing this year.”
Throughout his time on the perimeter catching balls from Schoolfield, Smith has been impressed with new starting gunslinger. He said the sophomore has "immaculate" arm talent and "puts it right on the money every time."
"Oh, I think he's special," senior safety Max Anderson added. "He really just smart back there calm under pressure, knows where to put the ball."
The Brave also have a new tradition: reciting a creed before every practice and every game.
"We have a gentleman by the name of Zack Hallett, who's our corners coach, and he has a military background. He brought that to the team," Altieri said. "It's just been one of those steps in the process of changing the culture of Boise High School."
The Brave kick off their season against Timberline on Friday, Aug. 18. Boise will host this year's matchup with Ridgevue on Aug. 24.
Each of KTVB's prep preview stories will be linked below as Friday Night Football inches closer:
Watch more Sports:
See KTVB sports coverage in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.