The Hive Sports

by Daniel Olsen

The 2022 high school football season begins in August. In this preview series, we will break down all you need to know about high school football for the 2022 season. These previews of each region will catch you up on storylines surrounding every high school team in Utah.

Clearfield

2021 record: 1-10

The Falcons notched just one win in 2021, which was a 27-14 decision over the Bear River Bears, a middling team at the 4A level. This meant that Clearfield was winless against all 6A teams in their region.

A shadow was cast over the program after Don Eck, the previous Falcons coach, was fired last year for sending a threatening voicemail to a student who quit the team. He will be replaced by Carl Harry, last year’s offensive coordinator, who also had coaching experience at Davis High prior to coming over to Clearfield.

Davis

2021 record: 5-6

The Davis Darts had some impressive games last year. However, as the oldest high school in Davis County, they seemed to miss the mark every other game. Their most exciting wins were overtime victories to Lehi and Fremont.

Former Fremont offensive coordinator Scott Peery fared well in his first season as the head coach at Davis. He will look to improve upon that with a year under his belt. The competition will be stiff as Region 1 has several talented programs.

Easton Baggett, the 5’10” senior quarterback for the Darts, looks to have his biggest season yet. He completed 57 percent of his passes last year. If he can eclipse that 60 percent barrier, the Darts might surpass that .500 barrier. It will be a game of inches, though.

Farmington

2021 record: 8-4

Farmington fared well in 2021 despite a tough 0-2 start. That will happen when facing one of the best programs in prep history: the Corner Canyon Chargers. After that 72-21 defeat and a close loss to Bountiful, the Farmington Phoenix won seven of their last eight regular-season games. The euphoria overflowed when the Phoenix earned a hard fought 10-7 home playoff victory over West High.

Former BYU tight end Daniel Coats has been working hard since 2018 to build a team that can contend in Region 1. They have done that every other year. The question will be whether they can build off last year’s momentum to become a more consistent challenger for the region title. Are they satisfied with occasional winning seasons, or do they want to be the best?

Easton White is one of the best returning quarterbacks in the region this year. His goal should be nothing short of All-Region honors. He arguably should have earned that last year after achieving a 60 percent completion rate. The ceiling for this team will be as high as the junior quarterback takes them. That should be a winning record at the very least. However, a deep State Playoff run will be more probable depending on how good of a seed they get in the state playoffs. They only lost to Weber, the Region 1 champions, by a field goal. They must have their eyes on the prize: the Region Championship and maybe more.

Fremont

2021 record: 4-7

Just like a marathon, it’s not always how you start. It’s how you finish. The Silverwolves hit the wall after a fast 3-1 start, winning just one of their last seven games down the stretch. The last loss was perhaps the most bitter of them all, a 31-30 first round State Playoff loss to Kearns.

Clay Bayard will be put to the test as the new coach for the Silverwolves. As has been the trend among coaching hires in Region 1 this year, he was promoted internally from the offensive coordinator position last year.

While he had a smaller sample size, Bodee Goins did complete 29-46 passes. That 63 percent clip will make him a contender for Region 1 Offensive MVP if he can stay healthy through the course of the season.

Layton

2021 record: 6-5

The Lancers were able to beat the teams they should have beaten, but struggled against superior teams. They did not beat a single 6A team with a winning record last year. That doesn’t mean they weren’t impressive. They did have some close losses to top region teams in Farmington and Weber, but they aren’t quite on the same level. This was proven in the State Playoffs when Weber defeated them in a second round rematch.

Former BYU players continue to make noise in Region 1 as Fotu Katoa, former Cougar tight end, has been coaching the Lancers since 2020. He has been a mainstay in that area of Utah as his previous head coaching stint wasn’t too far from there at Layton Christian Academy.

The most likely starter at QB for the Lancers is Danny Wall. Although his reps were limited, he does have the most experience of any returning QB on the roster. While he only completed one of four passes, that’s a small sample size. How he develops could make or break this season for the Lancers. Expect this team to fight hard, but struggle early as they look to navigate with new leadership in the backfield.

Syracuse

2021 record: 8-5

One of the most pleasant surprises in the State Playoffs was the Syracuse Titans after winning just three games in 2020. They won the most playoff games of anyone in Region 1 not named Weber, the team that beat them in the second round.

Michael Knight has been the head football coach at Syracuse since 2016. His Titans have notched winning records in three of his first five seasons at the helm. Can he take the next step with this 2022 team?

That all depends on whether junior quarterback Jake Hopkins is ready to take the next leap. He had, by far, the most reps and completed just over 55 percent of his passes. Two of his four losses were by one possession so they could challenge for the Region 1 Championship if they can turn those into wins this year.

Weber

2021 record: 10-3

While Weber made it all the way to the semifinals in the State Playoffs last year, they did show that they have work to do to compete with the other formidable regions in 6A. They started the year by being demolished by Bingham and American Fork, followed by rattling off eight straight wins to close the regular season. They were annihilated 48-13 by the defending champion Corner Canyon Chargers as their season came to an end.

The Warriors are a decade removed from their last coaching change in 2012, when Jason Anderson took over the program. At the time, the team didn’t have a clear direction. One decade later, he has vastly improved the two-win team that he inherited in his first year.

Aidan Carter had a 58 percent completion rate last year and will look to build on that as he commences his senior year for the Warriors. If he does, look for the Weber Warriors to make another run at a State Championship.

Featured image courtesy Deseret News