WRHS hopeful for successful season with roster of experienced athletes
Published 3:05 pm Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Heading into his third season at the helm of the White River High football program, Wyatt Evenson sees good things on the horizon.
“Year 3 is always a significant indication of how successful a rebuild is,” Evenson said in a written report to the Courier-Herald. “The last two seasons, we made the playoffs despite being picked to finish last in our current and former league. I’m sure the preseason rankings will be similar, but that motivates our guys even more.”
The Hornets’ ups and downs of the past two years have set the stage for better things, the coach said.
“In my first two years, we had to ask several younger players to step up in varsity games,” Evenson said. “They are juniors and seniors now with a lot of experience in big games, great wins, and tough losses. The lumps we took are bound to pay dividends this year.
“We’ve watched these now-seniors grow up from the end of their freshman year (when I first arrived) to now, and we are very excited to coach them one last time.”
Evenson and his staff have a handful of proven veterans to count on. Seniors on that list include the busy Ray Palmer who lines up at defensive back and wide receiver, along with handling kick and punt returns; Kovi Poulin handles duties at linebacker and wide receiver; Blake Bargelt is a running back and defensive end; and Mason Locke is a defensive back/running back. Poulin was a second team, all-league selection a season ago while Palmer and Bargelt earned honorable mention.
Juniors with on-the-field experience include quarterback Chaz Strickland, two-way lineman Bo Burbank and linebacker/wide receiver Derek Gonzalez.
Others in position to make an impact, Evenson said, are juniors Landon Kelley, Parker Fry, Stryker Simmons, Palmer Beus and Braydon Thomas, along with sophomore Charlie Robbins.
The coach said there’s a noticeable difference heading into this season.
“The real turnaround we saw last year was that even though we earned an automatic playoff berth in our league, our guys weren’t satisfied and felt like they underachieved,” he said. “That was made clear during our offseason workouts and during spring ball.
“This group has the opportunity to do something that hasn’t been done here in a long time.”
By finishing with an overall record of 5-5 last year the Hornets achieved something that hadn’t been done since 2018. The team hadn’t posted a .500 record in the previous five seasons.
