Elmore County football sets sights on playoff run
The Elmore County Panthers are preparing for the upcoming high school football season with their sights set on advancing beyond the first round of the 5A playoffs after last year’s early exit.
The Panthers reached the playoffs in 2023 behind a dominant rushing attack that averaged more than 175 yards per game, led by rising senior Eli Thames and quarterback Gage Davis, also a rising senior.
Elmore County football head coach Kyle Caldwell expects the ground game to remain the team’s foundation this season with key pieces returning.
“I return four starters up front on the O line and two running backs that are very explosive, and so expecting both of those guys to carry the load this year,” Caldwell said. “Getting better in the passing game and play action game is going to be one of our keys.”
However, the Panthers are focused on addressing the mental approach that contributed to their first-round playoff loss.
Senior linebacker Hunter Denham said poor attitudes became contagious during that defeat.
“Just one guy with a bad mental attitude can just ruin it for everybody else. And that’s really what happened that game. Just one person just got defeated and didn’t try no more. And it just melted off into everybody else,” Denham said.
The Elmore County football team has worked to create a more collaborative leadership structure this season.
“This year, there’s really no authority. Which sounds like a bad thing, but a good thing for us. We’re all like brothers instead of bosses,” Denham said. “We know when he’s talking to me like this, he’s not trying to make me look smaller than him, he’s trying to help me.”
Thames, the Panthers’ senior running back, expressed confidence that the team’s maturity and preparation will translate to postseason success.
“I think we’re going to make it past the first round this year. We’ve trained for it. We’re prepared. We’re older, so I think we got it,” Thames said.
