BOISE, Idaho — The Capital High School football team put everything together and made an impressive run all the way to the 5A state quarterfinals last fall, but things look very different for the Eagles in 2022.
With a new head coach, entirely new offense and an almost entirely new group of starters, can Capital -- a team with a list of traditions dating back to the 60s -- continue their winning tradition?
"The identity of this team is hardworking, definitely," senior defensive end/offensive tackle Tucker French said. "You know, we have tradition that no other school has. We are the grittiest, most hardworking team out there."
Capital senior running back Dawson Huerta even said the 2022 Eagles' squad is prioritizing "living up to tradition and work ethic."
Even in a year of transition, the principles of Capital football remain intact.
For the first time in Eagle history, a former player is taking the reigns of the program. Jay Bohner -- a 1989 Capital graduate -- returns to the Gem State after a 28-year stint coaching in Illinois, hoping to pick up right where Capital left off.
"I walked through the hallways in December when I interviewed, it was the first time I'd been in the hallways in 35 years," Bohner said. "The thing I realized right away was not a lot has changed. The work ethic of the players here has not changed. They still have the same traditions and still have the same drive and passion to excel. Just ecstatic to be back and be apart of it again."
Bohner is tasked with no easy challenge; inheriting a team that had a senior-heavy roster in 2021.
"I believe we lost 18 of our 22 starters last year," Bohner said.
Capital's few returners are motivated and still believe this team can reach new heights in 2022.
"I see last year as a successful year, but could've done a lot more," French said. "I'm looking to build off of that and go farther."
A big change that has the Eagles fired up is a new offensive system, switching from the spread to the I formation. The physical scheme favors Capital's strong running back room.
"I see it as a lot more grittier football, definitely tougher, just like the downhill part of it," French said.
The new offensive system captures the essence of the 2022 Capital football team, one that prides itself on its tradition of physicality.
"I like to say we're a blue-collar, lunch-pail crew, 'cause we are," Bohner said. "We don't have a lot of the fancy things that some of the other schools in our conference have, but we just come out and work, work, work, work, work. So, it's been great to see."
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