Badgers lose to Lethbridge; DePriest resigns
<p>Isaac Lavala stiff-arms a Lethbridge player for extra yards after a reception Sept. 12.</p>
The Bonners Ferry Badger football team lost to the Lethbridge Rams Sept. 12 after an eventful week for Bonners Ferry football.
The Badgers lost a hard fight to the team from Canada 44-7 on Friday night, but the real news for the Badgers happened Sept. 10 with the resignation of head coach and BFHS physical eduction teacher Ed DePreist.
DePriest resigned Wednesday after he was confronted by parents and players unhappy with his coaching. Although DePriest had the backing of the administration and school board, players blamed low turnout for the 2014-15 season on coaching, saying players that hadn’t come out for the team might be willing to show up if DePriest wasn’t the coach.
BFHS Principal Tim Gering had a different story, saying that the current junior and senior class had had low football turnout throughout their careers.
“It was a tough situation with the relationship between the parents, players and the coach,” Gering said. “We had to make the decision in order to move forward and progress with the season in a positive manner.”
Gering says parent and community support is vital for the health of Badger football. He would like to see more people out for the games even if they don’t have students in school.
“The important thing to focus on is the future of the program,” Gering said, “We have a strong freshman and sophomore class. We need to remember that we’re all one team and work together.”
As is becoming more and more common, much of the discussion from parents occurred on Facebook. DePriest defended his decision in the same forum, saying,
“I have stepped down as the head coach. I have done so in the hopes that the team can move on and not have to deal with this ceaseless bickering and divisiveness.”
“Don Alt and Chris Sabin will be co-head coaches for the remainder of the season,” said first-year athletic director Keith Carey. “We will continue to push through hard times that come because we are Badgers and that is what we do. We feel that this will be the best thing to do for the football program and athletes right now. Our number one goal is to help our athletes be successful in all they do.”
In addition, the Badgers have added assistant coach Kevin Stockton to the staff.
Although the sidelines held a few more players Friday night, the numbers were due to players coming back from injury and others who came out for the team before the coaching change, Gering said. One bright spot was the play of Isaac Lavala, who made a number of defensive and offensive plays for the Badgers his first game coming back from injury.
The Badgers play Lake City at 2 p.m. Saturday, Gering confirmed Wednesday, after a scheduling snafu confused the day and time.
The Badgers have yet to begin in-league play, which starts Oct. 10 on the road against Kellogg.
“The season isn’t over yet,” Gering said. “A win a Priest River and Kellogg would make us second in the league.”
Beating Timberlake would be a tall order, Gering said, but a second-place in-league berth would mean the Badgers host a home playoff game for the state championship.