Boise football: Zach Noeker profile

In mid-November, I interviewed Boise (Idaho) lineman Zach  Noeker and we talked about his career, and this year's Boise football season. As a lineman, he saw things differently than most. He was a class act and had a lot of good things to say. Here is the article that appeared in this year's Boise football yearbook.

Zach Noeker:

 
He played a part in Boise’s talented line
that led to team’s offensive highlights

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

            One of the key reasons for Boise’s turnaround in the 2012 football season was its offensive line.

            Zach Noeker was a member and a team captain. Although listed on the roster at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, the Braves often dominated their opponents. It led to one of the most impressive season-long performances in school history.
            “It was a good year,” said Noeker. “We didn’t win a lot, but we had fun and we won some key games.”
            It started well right from the beginning. Playing rival Borah on Aug. 24, before most other schools started, and in a new stadium, the Braves rolled to a 38-24 win. Noeker said the victory shocked almost everyone.
            “Beating Borah was the highlight. No hesitation there,” said Noeker. “It was our main focus all summer.”
            And it led to a great postgame celebration. The players ran to their fans in the stands and coach Bob Clark was doused with water on the warm evening. Noeker said he was exhausted, but not too tired to join.
            “I remember just walking off the field,” he said. “We had been jumping up and down and yelling. We were freaking out with how well we did.”
            The team had walked from school to Dona Larsen Park that night, but there was a bus available for the return trip. Noeker, who played offensive right guard and was the long snapper on special teams, said the Borah win was something special and the festivities continued.
            “We had players calling each other out. We would all cheer. It was awesome. At one point, we all started singing, too,” he said. “It was my best game. We came out with an intensity that we hadn’t seen in a while. We were very focused that week in practice and were ready to go.”
            Noeker grew up playing football every year – in Optimist, at Hillside Junior High and then at Boise. He also got interested in lacrosse, where Boise played its home games at East Junior High. Noeker said he enjoyed the contact, especially since lacrosse players were usually smaller.
            Prior to this season, he said his sports highlight was when Boise beat Timberline his sophomore year. Shortly afterward, he also learned how to be a long snapper.
            “It’s a hard position to learn,” he said. “I’m good friends with (kicker) Travis (Browndyke) and he pulled me aside after practice one day and asked me to long snap. Over the course of my junior season, I was the long snapper.”
                Noeker’s senior season was dominated by great memories, and they didn’t stop after the Borah game.
            The following week, for instance, the Braves won again and were quickly 2-0. Noeker said the team’s early success generated more camaraderie on the team, but it was always there on the offensive line crew of Noeker, Deion Hardy, Larry Evans, Josh Scholer, Nick Funke and Will Winkle.
            As linemen, that group got a special look at Boise’s season. Noeker said that, besides the Borah win, the other great highlight was how the Braves beat Meridian in the season finale. His favorite play? That’s easy. Tanner Gustavsen’s touchdown run at the end.
            “We called it ‘T.G. Airlines,’” he said, laughing because Gustavsen leaped to the end score to score.
            “When he got to the 2-yard line, he jumped over the defender and scored. It was the coolest thing ever. When we went for the two-point conversion, they couldn’t do anything about it. That was a great game for all of us.”
            It also helped erase the difficult times the Braves had at midseason. Noeker was out for one game after dislocating his kneecap against Mountain View. He felt Rocky Mountain and Mountain View had the best linemen but, in most cases, “were able to hold our own.”
            Noeker planned to compete in lacrosse again in the spring and, after graduation, had plans to study engineering at Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls. As for his football future?
            “I’m pretty small for a lineman. Not sure that would work out.”