The Hive Sports

by Daniel Olsen

The 2022 high school football season has started. We will break down all you need to know about high school football for the 2022 season. This recap will catch you up on storylines surrounding every high school team in Utah and give you an idea of what happened in Week 1.

Bear River

2021 record: 0-10

The Bears found about as many wins last year as the baby Bear found porridge in his bowl. Only two losses were by single digits and they only eclipsed the 20-point barrier on three occasions.

The team will be a work in progress for Coach Trampis Waite. While he is reportedly enthusiastic about building the youth football program in the area, that is a process that takes time.

Ryker Jeppsen was thought to be favored to again be the starting quarterback in his senior year. He threw for 1244 passing yards last year and should be able to rack up at least a few wins if he can complete over 50 percent of his passes like he did in his sophomore year with limited reps.

Bear River lost to the Morgan Trojans in their home opener by a final score of 37-14. Kyver Jensen ended up winning the starting job and threw two touchdown passes in garbage time.

Mountain Crest

2021 record: 2-9

The Mustangs didn’t fare much better than the Bears last year. Their lone wins were to the two Box Elder county teams: The Box Elder Bees and Bear River Bears.

Adding to the turnover of Region 11 is new Mountain Crest coach Randy Kerns. While he had a tough first season, he has a year under his belt. The goal will be to improve his standing in Region 11 and overall be more competitive in games.

Mountain Crest opened their season in Hurricane, Utah where they will took on the Tigers down South. Casey Crofts has the most experience on the quarterback depth chart from last year. While he did total 169 passing yards, he completed just one passing touchdown while giving up six interceptions. It’s also possible that fellow junior Lincoln Lofthouse could be the heir to last year’s starter Preston Lofthouse.

Mountain Crest dominated by a final score of 27-0 with all four touchdowns coming by the quick feet of running back Carson Olsen.

Sky View

2021 record: 7-5

While a winning record alone is great for some, it could be considered a disappointing season for the Bobcats, who had previously won two straight state championships. It was a rebuilding year for a Sky View team that hopes to get back to the top of Region 11 after watching the crosstown Ridgeline Riverhawks take home the state title.

Chris Howell is still coaching which bodes well for the Bobcats. Since he took over, Sky View has been the state champions of 4A in two of the last three seasons. It should be a positive year if they can get back to business.

The Bobcats will began their season in their home field in Smithfield, Utah against the Salem Hills Skyhawks. With the graduation of last year’s quarterback Garrett Zollinger, the Bobcats had to turn to junior Carson Thatcher. He did not record a single completion in four passing attempts off the bench last year.

Sky View won by the final score of 35-14. Thatcher fared well with a pair of passing touchdowns to mark the first of his high school career.

Ridgeline

2021 record: 13-0

The inverse of the winless Bear River season could in effect be the undefeated championship run of the Ridgeline Riverhawks. They plowed through defending Region 11 champion Sky View as well as tough 4A South teams in Crimson Cliffs and Dixie en route to the championship.

Travis Cox is the mastermind coach that has taken Ridgeline to the top of the mountain. He knocked on the door at an upset of undefeated Sky View in 2020 and then kicked the door down in 2021.

Ridgeline commenced their encore championship campaign at home against the Bonneville Lakers. With the graduation of quarterback Kaden Cox, the jury is still out on what Utah State commit, Jackson Olsen, will do for the team as a first-time starting QB this season.

Ridgeline was upset in a hard fought 12-7 loss to the Lakers in which they managed just one touchdown, which was on the run.

Green Canyon

2021 record: 7-3

Last year was a successful season for the Wolves, but they will be looking to take the next step and go for their first ever Region 11 title.

The Wolves lost to the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs 10-3 in a matchup down south during Week 1. While Green Canyon QB Jack Stephens threw for 278 yards, the team was unable to convert that success to touchdowns. The two costly interceptions were also a major factor in the lack of points.

Logan

2021 record: 6-5

The Grizzlies improved last year but still have work to do. After winning to Viewmont last year, they lost the return trip 30-16. New quarterback Keaton Pond completed one touchdown pass.

Viewmont is a bigger school as it is a 5A level team. This shouldn’t be a time for panic yet for the Grizzlies, but hopefully they will take this result and work as a team to improve in week two. Viewmont hasn’t been a powerhouse at their level, but their defense was suffocating and often caused miscues by the Grizzlies. There were mistakes on both ends but only Viewmont took full advantage.

Overall Region Grade: C

Overall, a 2-4 record was a bit disappointing but expected for Region 11 to start the year. These were some tough matchups against schools of equal or greater size. The only real surprise was the defending champion Ridgeline team losing a close one. It was a pleasant surprise that Mountain Crest looks more formidable this year. It will be interesting to see how these teams fare in the rest of their non-region games.