Teton High School, led by top Idaho wide receiver Thomas Heuseveldt, ready for biggest football stage
Thomas Heuseveldt doesn’t get much recognition.
Even when he does, his name often gets mispronounced (it is 'Hew-se-velt').
But the senior wide receiver at Teton High School not only leads the state in both receiving yards (1,638) and all-purpose yards (2,685), to go along with 35 total touchdowns - his eye-popping numbers also rank among the national leaders this fall.
He’ll look to finally get the proper attention when the Timberwolves go for their first state championship in 24 years on Saturday.
Teton (10-1) will play reigning state champion Sugar-Salem (10-0) in the Class 3A title game at 4 p.m. inside Pocatello’s Holt Arena.
“If he wasn’t at Teton, so isolated, he would have so many people on him,” Teton coach David Joyce said. “I just don’t feel like he’s getting as much looks as he should. I don’t think he has the exposure that he deserves.”
Heuseveldt scored the first time he ever touched a football. He took the opening kickoff to the house during a game in the fourth grade.
“I just felt so happy,” Heuseveldt said. “I just loved the feeling.”
But while Heuseveldt was tearing up the youth ranks in Driggs, the high school program struggled.
From 2013 to 2020, Teton missed the Idaho high school state playoffs five times, and failed to win a single postseason game.
It wasn’t any better before that, either. The Timberwolves missed the playoffs eight in eight consecutive seasons (2004-11).
So when Heuseveldt suited up on varsity for the first time in 2021, little was made of it. He ended up missing nearly the entire year after spraining a knee ligament (MCL) n his right leg - twice.
Teton went 2-6 that season.
“I hate sitting out of anything that’s competitive or athletic,” Heuseveldt said. “Because I’m a competitor and when I can’t help my team, it just kills me.”
A mindset passed down to him by his father Robert Heuseveldt, who played for Idaho State University in the late 1990s and is now Teton's boys basketball coach. His two older brothers, Hyrum and Jarom, also drove his passion for the game.
“My brothers and I always played in the backyard,” Thomas Heuseveldt said.
He’s come a long way from there.
Heuseveldt returned from injury to help lead a program turnaround that began a year ago.
Joyce took the reins of the team last season after spending the previous five years at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It didn’t take him long to realize what he had in Heuseveldt.
Heuseveldt broke several tackles with just seconds remaining for the game-winning touchdown against Marsh Valley in the second game of 2022 campaign. He followed it up with a second-half kickoff return for a score during a state quarterfinal game against Buhl. It came immediately after the Indians had gotten themselves back in the game with a touchdown on their opening drive.
The Timberwolves won the game, 53-32, and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2002.
“You knew then that you had a guy that could take it to the house anytime he touched the ball,” Joyce said.
Others started slowly catching on. Heuseveldt was selected to the all-state second-team after totaling 1,543 yards and 26 touchdowns, including 973 yards and 17 scores on the ground.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Heuseveldt
“It meant everything,” Heuseveldt said. “Just because of all the work and all the drive. It was definitely very satisfying.”
And the now 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pounder has picked up where he left off last season.
Heuseveldt had his streak of 100-yard receiving games snapped last week in the 3A quarterfinal victory over Homedale. That is OK, because he still rushed for 141 yards - the third time this season he eclipsed the century mark on the ground.
He’s scored a touchdown in every game and in almost every way imaginable. Heuseveldt even has two touchdown passes on the year.
But as impressive as those numbers are, it’s not what stands out the most to Joyce.
It’s his selflessness.
Heuseveldt gave up his role as the primary running back and moved over to slot receiver. There have been several times where he hasn’t necessarily been the focal point of the offense, too.
Senior quarterback Jack Nelson and wide receiver Ty Brown were both all-state selections last season, too.
Nelson has completed 70% of his passes for 3,123 yards and 31 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 510 yards and five scores, including last week’s game winner.
Brown, on the other hand, has 59 catches for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Junior tailback Jack Joyce has also been able to emerge. He’s approaching 1,400 yards with 12 touchdowns on the year. It’s all resulted in the 3A’s top offense at 44.0 points per game.
“He had to learn to be a good teammate and share the ball to realize that if the other guys don’t get their touches, you’re going to be double covered. You’re not going to get the ball,” David Joyce said. “So I really feel like he’s matured just as a teammate and became a leader that way. That’s really hard to do when you’re a superstar, to swallow your pride.”
Heuseveldt has had to do that against Sugar-Salem.
The Diggers ended his season last year in a 60-21 state semifinal defeat. They’re also responsible for Teton’s lone blemish this year. The Timberwolves turned the ball over six times in a 41-14 loss in mid-October.
They are 0-12 against them over the past 11 seasons.
Sugar-Salem is attempting to become the first team in 23 years to win five out of six state championships.
“They’re a powerhouse. You gotta give them credit. They’re a great football team," Heuseveldt said. :But I know and my team knows, we’re the better team and we just got to show it.
“We’re not scared. We got nothing to lose, man.”
No matter what happens, this could be Heuseveldt's final game Saturday.
He does have an offer from NAIA’s Montana State University - Northern and is in talks with Big Sky Conference schools such as Idaho State. But Heuseveldt is contemplating serving a two-year LDS mission following graduation. And if he goes, it’s not a guarantee that any of those schools and others will wait or have a spot for him upon his return.
“It’s kind of upsetting, but it’s alright,” Heuseveldt said. “I’d love the opportunity to play college football. But we’ll just see where the wind takes me I guess.
“I just know I have to get to a bigger stage so people can look at me.”
And give him his due.
(Photos courtesy of Thomas Heuseveldt)
