Panthers still soaking in championship feeling

By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:16 AM PST

Members of the 2A state champion Parma Panthers pose for a photo moments after defeating Declo 29-28 in overtime. The title was the first for the porgram in 12 years.

Boise — Two and half years is what it took for head coach Greg Asbury and the Parma Panthers to see the hard work and dedication pay off.

Through all of the summers, weight room sessions and pain, the Panthers have grown into a family — brothers in the trenches working towards a common goal — A 29-28 overtime victory over Declo and a state championship.

“It’s awesome, it feels good. I can’t explain how good this feels. This is what every kid in Idaho works for is this moment right here. It paid off for us this year,” Parma running back Dalton Koplin said. “Everybody just depended on each together and we just got the job done. Coach has told us all year, we were really good, but there was much more we had to do. He told us before this game that we were that far away from being state champions, it was about us being physical and working that much harder and we did that.”

There were many heroes on the gridiron Friday, from the Devin Erickson’s, the offensive line, Cameron Stewart and Rance Portenier, who played the entire season on a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Senior lineman Kieran Riley was both relieved and happy to see his squad finally reach the pinnacle of high school athletics.

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“We won this as an all-out team. There were times in the game where I had to look to the guy next to me for help and it is pretty cool when you can do that, when you can turn to the guy next you and know they are there for you,” Riley said. “It has really been a fun ride. You hate to see it all end tonight, but we won the grand prize.”

Linebacker Israel Urabazzo exclaimed moments after the customary handshake with members of the Declo football team, “Now that’s the way to end the season.”

“These guys have meant a lot to me. They’re closer than my family. I consider every one of these guys my brother,” Urabazzo said. “We played hard today. We fought as hard as we could even into overtime. It was good. This is the best moment of the season. Winning the trophy always feels good, everybody knows that. All the running, that paid off. I want to thank the coaches for that. They really prepared us for this moment right now.”

Asbury, who burst onto the scene from Homedale and other stops, said his Panther team has been believers from the very start.

That belief, in the end, created a foundation for winning.

“From day one, they gave me everything they had,” Asbury said. “They’re great kids, they’re great role models and bottom line is, they just played their butts off tonight. It was two and half years of hardcore weight training. That’s what it took for our kids to get to this point. They believed in what we were doing, they played hard. They played a team just as good as them tonight. Declo is an outstanding football team. My hats off to coach Kidd and his staff. They could not have done any more. In the end, these kids stepped up, made a play here and there and that is what we had to do to win this football game.”

For Riley, the turnaround came early on this year, where the Panthers were set to square off against perennial powerhouse Nampa Christian with first-place in the Western Idaho Conference on the line.

Both teams were 4-0 and entered action with a full head of steam.

Parma’s defense dominated the potent Trojan offense, which had scored an average of 40 points a game, holding on for the 15-3 victory.

From that moment, the Panthers kept the momentum going, culminating in Friday’s triumph at Bronco Stadium in Boise.

“I think the Nampa Christian game was a big point in our season, that said we have the potential, we are that good and that we could compete with the top teams,” Riley said. “Of course the Aberdeen game showed, that yeah, we were the real deal. The Baker game, we had a real eye-opener, so we knew we could compete. We learned a lot from that Baker game, we just kept getting better and better each week.”

With 10 seniors headed off into the sunset with rings on their fingers, Asbury said Friday’s win set the stage for the future.

“I think the young guys have to feed off the leadership of the seniors. They saw what it took to win,” Asbury said. “They saw from their older brothers what it takes to win a title. I hope we can build on that in the weight room and through our preparation, so we can get back here next year. That’s the thing, you never know when you can get back.”