Black Hills turns to alum Garrett Baldwin to pursue renewed football success
Sometimes a high school football coaching job cries out for an alumnus to take the reins.
Black Hills, successful in the past under Jack Zilla and Kirk Stevens, needed to reboot after a precipitous fall from the triumph of a 2018 Class 2A Evergreen Conference championship year that featured a run to the state quarterfinals, an emotional Pioneer Bowl win over archrival Tumwater, and an unbeaten league season.
With several key players returning from Stevens’ best team, the Wolves seemed a good bet to contend again in 2019. But injury after injury to some of those experienced standouts dropped Black Hills to a 3-6 mark. Their playoffs ended with a Kansas tie-breaker loss to Aberdeen and Centralia for the EvCo’s final playoff slot.
This spring, a delayed and shortened season got even shorter when the Wolves were repeatedly struck by COVID-19 outbreaks. They played just four games, winning only two.
Enter Garrett Baldwin, a 29-year old Air Force veteran who assisted at River Ridge the last three seasons. More importantly, enter Garrett Baldwin, a graduate of Black Hills who played defensive back the night the Wolves downed Tumwater, 19-7, in the 2009 Pioneer Bowl.
W.F. West won the EvCo title that season – the last time mighty Tumwater wouldn’t before 2018 – but Baldwin experienced what he hopes his players will someday soon, bragging rights in a football-crazed community.
“Being somebody who grew up in this town, lived on the same streets, shopped at the same stores and walked through these hallways, I think I have a lot of perspective to offer the kids,” Baldwin said. “Even mistakes that I made that I can share with them and help them not to make.
“Having been part of an awesome team in 2009 that beat Tumwater, I know in my heart we can do it. I have to share that with the kids and grow their belief that they can do it.”
Baldwin believes his stint in the Air Force, which saw him liaise with Army cavalry units to call in air support, prepared him for the detail-oriented responsibilities of a head coach and the stress of the job. His short apprenticeship as an assistant at River Ridge also allowed him to see the game from different angles.
The Hawks offensive coordinator is Zilla, who coached Baldwin at Black Hills. He helped pave the way for his former player to join Ridge head coach Steve Schultz’s staff.
“They got me into coaching all kinds of different positions,” Baldwin said. “They tested me, challenged me and helped my growth.”
Baldwin reached back into both winning eras of Wolves’ football in building his staff. The defensive coordinator who guided him as a player, Eric Snelson, is back. Passing game coordinator Keith Rhodes is a holdover from Stevens’ staff who contributed to the high powered 2018 offense, built around quarterbacks Ethan Loveless and Jaden Cote.
Both Baldwin and Rhodes believe the 2018 team had generational talent and intangibles that made an 11-1 season possible.
“There was a lot of talent and a lot of leadership on that team, especially from that senior class,” Rhodes said. “A lot of those guys had played together since they were young and had really bonded. When that senior class left, we struggled with a little bit of a gap in leadership.
“What’s exciting about this year’s team is we’re starting to see some of the older players we’re going to count on moving into leadership roles. There’s been a solid energy, starting with the coaches. It’s transitioned well the last couple of weeks to where now the players are the ones setting the energy.”
The coaches point to junior quarterback/free safety Xander Shepler, junior linebacker Hank Spray, junior tight end Keanan Rongen and senior two-way lineman Hank Settles among those leaders.
Since 13 of the 49 players in Black Hills’ program are freshmen, at least six or seven Wolves will start both ways, including QB Shepler.
“Xander is an electric athlete, a playmaker,” said Baldwin. “If he sees a play is not going well, he has the instincts to keep the ball, get to the right spot and make something awesome happen. Defensively he’s a great vocal leader. He gets his guys into the right spots. He’s not afraid of contact. He loves flying down there and making tackles.”
Shepler, who will have returning All-EvCo senior wide receiver Luke Ellison to throw to, sees no problem with the relative rarity of a quarterback staying on the field after an offensive possession ends.
“It’s not that tough. You just fly around and lay the hammer,” he said.
Spray is new to his middle linebacker spot on defense, but Baldwin sees rapid progress.
“He’s busting his tail, asking questions and watching film,” Baldwin said. “On offense, he leads by example. He’s always in the right spot, doing his job, working hard. He builds his teammates up around him.”
He sees the energy Rhodes mentioned.
“Everyone’s more excited to play. We’re a more physical team,” Spray said. “It’s more of a brotherhood this year.”
Shepler sees the increased connection between players and says the Wolves’ skill level is higher.
“All the hard work we put in over the summer, in the weight room, out on the field getting extra throws in with our receivers, is paying off,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 800-pound gorilla in the room for Black Hills, if not the entire 2A EvCo, continues to be Tumwater, which bounced back from its rare runner-up league finish to the Wolves in 2018 with an official state title in 2019 and a championship-by-acclamation this spring after crushing all six opponents, including strong Steilacoom and Prosser teams.
Baldwin likens the Thunderbirds, with whom the Wolves share Tumwater District Stadium, to the NFL’s often-dominant New England Patriots.
“A lot of people like to ignore them or hate them,” he said. “But we like to look at Tumwater as a standard to pursue. We don’t fear them, but we do admire the talent and the fact that they’ve had a lot of success. We believe we’re going to win that game, if we have any other attitude, we’re failing ourselves.”
Spray puts it simply.
“I don’t think about the history. I think about right now.”
BLACK HILLS WOLVES
Coach: Garrett Baldwin, first career season as a head coach
Spring 2021 record: 2-2, incomplete schedule in 2A Evergreen Conference
Offensive coordinator, base scheme: Garrett Baldwin (Power T)
Defensive coordinator, base scheme: Eric Snelson (3-4)
Top players: WR/DB Luke Ellison, SR; WR/LB Connor Hopkins, 6-1, 175, JR; TE/DL Keagan Rongen, 6-4, 225, JR; RB/DB Braiden Bond, 5-10, 165, JR; FB/LB Sean Moloney, JR; OL/DL Hunter Settles, SR; OL/DL Hank Spray, 5-10, 215; JR; QB/DB Xander Shepler, 5-10, 150, JR; LB/OL Austin Imsland, 6-2, 230, SR; LB/RB Johnnie Stallings, 5-8, 150, JR; LB/RB Travis Carson, SO; DL/OL Carson Lowe, SR
Outlook: Breaking Tumwater’s stranglehold on the 2A Evergreen Conference title in 2018 with an 11-1 season that included a heart-pounding 22-17 Pioneer Bowl win and a run to the state quarterfinals, the Wolves reign was short-lived. The graduation of key senior leaders and injuries to expected mainstays derailed the 2019 season and, this spring, COVID-19 hit Black Hills hard as it played only four games. New coach Garrett Baldwin, an alum who played in 2009 when the Wolves also beat archrival Tumwater, comes over from an assistant’s role at River Ridge to lead a hoped-for revival. First team All-EvCo wide receiver Luke Ellison returns.
This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.