Semones to quarterback Team Idaho in All-State game

| June 18, 2009 9:00 PM

POCATELLO — “Snake” will be back under center Saturday night at the Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Jake Semones, who had a stellar season guiding the Sandpoint football team last fall, will be representing Team Idaho in the 4A/5A Idaho High School All-State Game. Sandpoint linebacker Coleman Frank was also supposed to play, but had to back out at the last minute.

It’s been a fun week for Semones, who plans to try and play football at Yale, where his father Doug is now coaching linebackers. He’s staying in a dorm and making friends with other top football players from around the state. They’ve gone to movies, played laser tag, and had a few practices to learn a new offense.

“I’m meeting a lot of kids I’ve battled against for a long time,” said Semones, adding that he’s had to basically learn Highland’s entire offense. “I’m bewildered right now. He’s (Highland coach) really cramming it in.”

Semones is on Team Idaho, featuring the top departing seniors from northern and eastern Idaho. He’ll alternate series with Highland’s Taysom Hill, a 6-3, 215 pound quarterback who will play for Stanford next season. Team Idaho will face Team Treasure Valley, which is comprised of Boise-area players and is 4-0 in the relatively brief history of the game.

Sandpoint head coach Mike Mitchell is currently coaching the Bulldogs at the Eastern Washington Football Camp, which runs from today through Tuesday in Cheney. He’s hoping to maybe sneak away and catch a flight down to Pocatello to support Jake, if it’s at all possible. He believes Semones can play at the next level.

“Yale is a great place for him; he’s an intelligent kid,” Mitchell said of the left handed quarterback. “He’s as accurate a passer as you’ll find at any level.”

Semones is one of 10 post graduate students invited to play football at Loomis-Claffey prep school in Connecticut next year, in a program designed for kids trying to get into the Ivy League. He’ll concentrate on academics, then will join the Yale football team for the 2010 season.