Shepherd Football Coach Josh Casares is ready for his first Battle of the Bridge.

The 'Battle of the Bridge' happens on Friday the 11th as the Shepherd Mustangs will host the Huntley Red Devils in one of Yellowstone County’s premier rivalries. First-year head coach Josh Casares isn’t concerned about the showdown, however.

Townsquare Media caught up with the coach Thursday afternoon.

“Records and past history records kinda get thrown out of the window when rivalry teams meet. Anything can happen.” When asked about his prediction on the game, Casares said “[I think] the winner will be the team that makes the least amount of mistakes and doesn’t let the game get too big.”

Freshman Quarterbacks aren’t common in Montana football, but coach Casares is excited to work with freshman QB Caleb Nicholson for all 4 years of his high school career. “He’s very mature for his age, you can tell he has a really good football IQ.”

Casares had the opportunity to watch Caleb in middle school last year as the Passing Game Coordinator before becoming a head coach this year. “We knew how talented he was, and obviously it’s a different game coming up to Varsity competition, but I think he’s done a really good job of protecting the football.”

Is Shepherd's football program turning around?

“The biggest thing I wanted to bring to this program is balance.” Casares is happy with where the program is headed, getting more air under the ball in a program that was traditionally run-heavy. “The record may not be where we envisioned it, but it takes time to build our programs and the culture into what we [coaches] want.”

With experience playing under Coach Mark Sulser at Senior and then coaching under Chris Murdock, Casares is proud of the structure brought into the program. “I try to mold what I learned [playing and coaching] and bring it to Shepherd."

This isn’t just a school rivalry, but a challenge of the coaches as well.

Kevin Avison enters his first Battle of the Bridge as well in his first year out at Huntley Project. “We’re both still trying to put our wrinkle to our programs,” Coach Casares said. “I’ve been a part of some pretty big games as a coach. I’m nervous. I told the boys it’s okay to be nervous. But after that first whistle, it’s time to just play football.”

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