Roberts was work horse

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Journal Sports Writer

POCATELLO — Football couldn’t have gone much better for Geoff Roberts in 2006.

In his senior season at Pocatello, the Indians won their first state championship of the Tom Harrison era, and Roberts was arguably the most valuable player along the way.

The Indians standout running back was simply dominant. He carried the ball 180 times for more than 1,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, and came up big in every Indians’ victory.

As the middle running back in Poky’s Wing T backfield, he was constantly called upon to both fight for tough yards on third down and break away for long gains. Some nights he rushed for more than 170 yards and multiple touchdowns, like at Twin Falls, and on others he refused to let a broken left hand keep him off the field, like against Highland.

Through it all, he stayed quiet. He never danced off the field after any touchdown run, never trash talked and often gave the credit for his big games to his offensive line.

“I love my offensive line,” he said. “They pretty much did everything for me this year. They were young, but they got better every single day. That’s what put us over the hump.”

Now he can thank his buddies up front one more time for being named the Journal’s 2006 high school football All-Area Player of the Year.

“That means a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve been working my whole life to be best in the area. It makes me feel good to know at least some people think I am.”

When Roberts first got into football back in his elementary school days, he was actually groomed as a quarterback and even split time with Jordan Craney at the position during his freshman year at Century. But a move into Poky’s district changed all that. For coach Harrison, Roberts was going to be play running back.

Looking back, the switch turned out for the best. Roberts accumulated more than 3,000 yards during his Indians’ career and scored almost 60 touchdowns. He also played on the defensive side of the ball from time to time as a linebacker. But despite all that playing time, he can’t pick out a single touchdown run or a big game that defined his career.

By far, his favorite memory was celebrating a state championship with his teammates. After coming so close against rival Bishop Kelly in the state title game as a sophomore and junior, he described beating the Knights for the crown as “the most amazing thing in the world.”

He even admits to crying after the game.

“It’s still a blur to me,” he said. “All I know is there was a lot of yelling and screaming. We were so excited to win, everyone was just freaking out, and a lot of people were crying. I know I was.”

Roberts hopes he can enjoy a similar moment at the college level. He said he’d received calls from Eastern Oregon and Carroll College, but hoped Idaho State would become an option, now that John Zamberlin is head coach.

But where he plays college ball doesn’t matter all that much to him. As long as he sees the field and can build on his ambition to become a high school teacher/football coach some day, he’ll be happy.

Even if that doesn’t happen, though, the 2006 state championship banner will always hang in the Palace. No one can take that memory away.

“I hope I can come back 20 years from now at a high school reunion and relive it all with my teammates,” he said. “That’s my dream.”

By Kellis Robinett

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