CALDWELL, Idaho — The start of the college football season is just around the corner, and Yotes fans were able to get their first look at this year's College of Idaho football team in the purple and gold offense versus defense scrimmage Friday night.
“It’s just really awesome to have the whole community out here to support us and we have a great turnout," Ryan Hibbs, Yotes quarterback, said. "It's just a practice, basically, and we had a ton of people out here to support us so it just shows that this team is really part of the community.
It was the first time in over a year and a half the Yotes football team played in front of a crowd. More than 800 fans showed up to watch the purple and gold scrimmage under the lights at Simplot Stadium.
"I was anticipating that we would have this sort of crowd. I was not sure it was going to be this big," head football coach Mike Moroski said. "It’s kind of what Caldwell is all about. It's what the College of Idaho is all about. The community comes, supports, and it's fantastic. It makes it more special."
The defense won the night and came up with a couple of interceptions.
“The defense's enthusiasm and speed to the ball were impressive and I think they took it to us offensively," Moroski said. "Our defense will give people trouble with that this season, though I thought the offense was resilient and made some plays. I like our team.”
There's less than a month until the team's first kickoff, and Moroski says he likes what he's seeing from his team so far.
"We are very talented in spots, and I think we are making improvements across the board. I don’t know how good we are going to be, but I think we have a chance to pull it together," Moroski said. "We can be something together as a real team, a real special group of guys working together, and picking each other up and finding a way to win close games."
Moroski says these next couple of weeks of fall camp are crucial for his team to continue getting better, and fine-tuning the little things because looking at the Frontier Conference teams this year, it's going to be a tough season.
"Four teams got first-place votes from the conference coaches, and the team that won the conference in the spring season did not get a first-place vote, so I think it is as balanced as it’s ever been," he said. "I think every game is going to come down to less than 10 points."
But, the team expects to compete for a conference championship this season.
“Something that is different this year is we have a lot of depth," Hibbs said. "I have been really impressed with how all of our guys top to bottom have shown up and performed. A lot of our guys are doing well and I think that it is going to be a good year for us."
C of I opens the 2021 season Sat., Aug. 28 at MSU-Northern and their first home game is Sat., Sept. 4 against Rocky Mountain College
To view their schedule, visit yoteathletics.com/sports/football/schedule.
