The Hive Sports

By AJ Conlin

High School football will be making its long-awaited return on Friday, August 11th. The excitement behind it is gaining traction as we head into the final weeks of practices. After the realignment of every region in Utah, it is important to familiarize oneself with the new schools in their region.

Player comment will be formatted in a list. The questions will be:

1. What have you been doing personally to prepare for the season? How about your team?

2. How are you feeling about going into the first game?

3. What game are you most anticipating this season?

Cottonwood

2022 record: 2-8

The Cottonwood Colts had a rough season last year. Their two wins came from Jordan, by use of the free kick rule, (decided by one point) and Murray (decided by 13 points). None of their losses were particularly close, excluding their 36-39 loss to Stansbury’s Junior Varsity team.

Offensively, the Colts ran a very pass-heavy offense, with just 2.1 yards per carry, and 429 rushing yards total. The other 2013 yards they got that season was through the pass, leaving Cottonwood with a measly 244.2 yards per game. Defensively, they had 71 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks, six interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and a whopping five blocked field goals.

Coming back into region play from independence, they will have a problem finding a replacement for both Nick Bean and Roman Caywood, who were their leading receivers and tacklers. Bean also recorded five interceptions. Cottonwood will also have to replace QB Brock Simpson. However, they will be returning the rest of their receiving corps in Kaelen Gray and Damien Stonehocker. They will also return kicker Ryan Nielson, who claimed local fame after booting a rare free-kick through the uprights to beat Jordan.

Going into this season with new head coach Donovan Malmrose, the Colts will try some new philosophies to improve their record. Cottonwood football will return on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be the Ogden Tigers.

1. “I have been working hard this off-season at wide receiver and kicker,” Nielson said. “I’ve been going to lots of camps and doing a lot on my own to be ready for the season.”

2. “I’m very excited for the first game, as is my team,” Nielson said. “It’s what we’ve been preparing for the whole off-season so we can’t wait.”

3 “Murray is a cross-town rival that we have seen a lot this off-season and we’re hungry to beat them again,” Nielson said. “I think fans will make a great showing for that game as well.”

Hillcrest

2022 record: 0-10

The Hillcrest Huskies had an abysmal season last year. Their closest losses were a 3-0 slug fest against Carbon, and two seven point losses to Jordan and Uintah. Normally, this would include a deeper offensive and defensive analysis, but Hillcrest has little to no stats posted publicly.

Despite what happened last season, I think this season could be different. I was able to talk with new head coach Robert Kaelin about his team.

“We are starting from square one,” Coach Kaelin said. “We are teaching fundamentals, building belief in their abilities, and putting an emphasis on the weight room this off-season, building strength and improving agility – pushing the players beyond what they feel their limits have been.”

Any coach will tell you that success starts in the weight room, and it’s true. This new emphasis on strength training should help the Huskies improve this season.

“We know that building a program takes time,” Coach Kaelin said, “as does learning and mastering new offensive and defensive schemes. However the work our players have put in this off-season combined with their desire to be better than they have been in years past gives us a lot of hope heading into week one.”

Even though it may take some time, Hillcrest could build up to become a good football team in the next few years.

“We have a lot of players who will be contributing on both sides of the ball this year as we put an emphasis on team over the individual,” Coach Kaelin said. “However, a few players we expect to make an impact for us this season are Steven Hoskins (WR), Anthonie Taylor (QB), Mateo Paul (WR/DB).

With high school football having less time on the clock, it makes it a lot easier for kids to play both sides of the ball, contribute, and not over-exert themselves in practice or games.

“We have a lot of great opponents on our schedule this season,” Coach Kaelin said, “both in and out of Region, and we look forward to competing with each one of them. With the establishment of a new culture, coaching staff, and schemes, we look forward to week one to show the State what we have been working on this Summer. Also with their proximity, placement on our schedule being our final home game of the regular season, and having competed with them numerous times throughout the Summer, Cottonwood is a game we look forward to, capping off what we hope to be a great Hillcrest football regular season.”

Coach Kaelin believes that he has pushed his team hard enough to compete with teams this season and is optimistic about his chances of a good season this season.

“The great thing about Hillcrest is that our players work hard and compete, Coach Kaelin said. “Though historically the on-field result has not been what we have hoped for, the work ethic and dedication of our players has never wavered. With this new coaching staff, we are establishing a culture that combines the work ethic of our players with the tools they need in order to learn, grow, and improve so that the on-field results equal the hard work they put in. A lot of changes have been made to change the culture and instill our hallmarks of Discipline (we do everything exactly right), Effort (all out or get out), Team (it’s not about me it’s about us), and Honor (always represent the name on the front). We look forward to the challenge of bringing Hillcrest back into the positive light of the football community.”

The past can be daunting to many people, but to Coach Kaelin, he is looking to paint over what Hillcrest used to be and create a new culture with winning being the top philosophy.

“We look forward to seeing the changes in the coaching staff, schemes, and personnel unfold on the field on Friday nights and believe that once we get clicking and bring everything together, that we will see success both on and off the field,” Coach Kaelin said.

With the new coaching philosophies and a new fire underneath this team, I believe that Coach Kaelin could turn this team into a contender. Hillcrest football will have their first true test on Friday, August 11th at 7 PM. Their opponent will be the Carbon Dinos.

Player comment:

1 “Everyday I find a way to get better,” Hoskins said, “I try to be a leader to my teammates and push them with me so we can all be on the same level, whether that is going early to get footwork drills in the WRs or staying late and conditioning extra when no one is watching.”

2 “I feel like we are about to shock a lot of people,” Hoskins said. “Hillcrest is known to lose. Teams look on their schedule and think it’s an easy 40+ win. But I think with our new coaching staff and overall improving culture no one should be happy to play us.”

3 “I can’t wait to go against Murray,” Hoskins said. “The first year we played them I was just a freshman starting varsity in my first year ever playing WR. They definitely took advantage of that. So to be able to go at them full strength is something I look forward to!”

3 “I am most anticipating cottonwood the most,” Senior RB/LB Marcus Sollers said, “because we have battled with them multiple times in 7 on 7s and it is exciting to play them officially under the lights in pads.”

Jordan

2022 record: 2-8

The Jordan Beetdiggers didn’t have a very good season last year, either. They only beat Hillcrest by seven and Evanston (WY) by one. Jordan has some stats posted, but they are incomplete, so I am unable to give you an accurate representation of how their season went.

The Beetdiggers are returning their entire main receiving corps, along with starting RB Noah Gatti. They will lose starting QB Colton Austin, along with the majority of their leading tacklers in DEs Matthew Riet and Rochad Mahmood.

With another season under head coach Rodregis Smith, the Beetdiggers will try to find their footing this season. Jordan football will return on Friday, August 11th at 6 PM. Their opponent will be the Timpanogos Timberwolves.

Murray

2022 record: 0-10

The Murray Spartans had a disgraceful season last year. Their closest loss was a thirteen point loss to Cottonwood. The entire season, they only scored seven touchdowns, resulting in 69 points, averaging to just 6.9 points per game.

They went 61 for 178 (34.3%) on passes, throwing eight interceptions. The Spartans only had 2.7 rushing yards per carry, with seven lost fumbles. They averaged an atrocious 146 yards per game. Defensively, they only had 29 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, five interceptions, five recovered fumbles, but they did pick up a field goal block. They allowed a total of 485 points throughout the season.

Murray’s entire offense seemed to revolve around WR Aidan Wallbridge, QB Jack Jensen, and RB Brock Perry. Of the three, only Perry will return this season. Their leading tackler last season, Eli Cushing has also moved on from the team.

Under new head coach Roger Armijo, the Spartans have a chance to truly turn this season around from last year. Murray football will return on Friday, August 11th at 6 PM. Their opponent will be the Northridge Knights.

Park City

2022 record: 8-3

The Park City Miners had a great season last year. They barely lost to East by seven, Brighton by 14, and Lehi by 34 in the playoffs. The rest of their games were won relatively comfortably.

Despite losing 12 fumbles and throwing eight interceptions, the Miners upheld an insane pass completion percentage of 64.1%. They were also able to travel 359.5 yards per game, split almost in half between passing and rushing.

This season, the Miners lost some key players, such as star QB Chase Beyer, WR Joseph Eldridge, RB Mason Grover, and monster LBs Brayden Beyer and Chandler Kelsch. This year, they’ll return defenders Blake Tabbaracci, Ben Beatty, and Carson Nevarro, with Liam Gallon on the offensive line. They’ve also added Rocco Daly (previously played in Seattle) to the offensive line. This year, Lincoln Jackson will take over the helm and see if he has what it takes to lead his team to victory.

Behind Jackson and seasoned head coach Josh Montzingo, the Miners have every reason to succeed this season. Park City football will return on Friday, August 11th at 7 PM. Their opponent will be their biggest rival, the Wasatch Wasps.

Stansbury

2022 record: 12-1

The Stansbury Stallions were hyped up to be one of the best teams in 5A last year, and they lived up to the hype. They had a perfect regular season with none of their games being even remotely close. Going into the playoffs, they had their closest win of the season with a 15 point win over Cedar Valley. The Stallions then went on to blow out Olympus at home, before getting absolutely humbled by Lehi 42-0 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Offensively, the Stallions had a pass completion rate of 54.9%, 41 touchdowns through the air, and threw eight interceptions. They had a whopping 3166 yards on the ground, with 42 touchdowns, and seven lost fumbles. They racked up an insane 449.3 yards per game. Defensively, they had 36 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 20 interceptions, six fumble recoveries, and a blocked punt.

The reason that Stansbury had such a great season this year is the fact that they had so many seniors who had started as juniors the year before. This year, they will be losing star dual threat QB Ezra Harris, who was nationally ranked during part of the regular season. They will also lose the crown jewel of their team, Dylan Hamilton. Hamilton did it all, whether it be running, catching, defending, tackling, or punting. They are losing the rest of their main receiving corps in Brock Wilson and Trent Jones. They will lose star transfer LB/RB Mateaki Helu, who signed to Utah, along with Michael Geovjian, their leading tackler.

The Stallions will return former BYU, now Illinois commit LB Easton Baker, along with LB/WR Mason Maxwell, who saw limited playing time last year. Luke Daynes will also return as a linebacker and kicker, coming off of shattering his collarbone. Bracken Matthews will be one of very few to return at DB. Some new faces this year will be WR/LB Max Olson, who tore his meniscus at the beginning of last season. Alex Geovjian and Noah Nunley could also sneak their way behind the D-Line at some point, too. RBs Tyson Ferry and Mikha Salahuddin could be big, and QB Coleman Dearden will have some big shoes to fill this season.

Behind head coach Eric Alder for yet another season, the Stallions could have some trouble finding their stride starting the season, however, their JV team was the team that beat Cottonwood’s varsity last year, so they may already be developed. Stansbury football will return on Friday, August 11th at 6 PM. Their opponent will be the Snow Canyon Warriors.

Player comment:

1 “Been working out with the team,” Baker said, “but also doing a ton of work with my little bro, Broncs. We have been doing a lot of hill sprints. The team has been working hard in the mornings.”

1 “Some things I’ve been doing throughout this off-season to prepare is throwing with my wide receivers and been lifting too with our team,” Dearden said. “I’ve also been to a couple of camps too.”

2 “Super excited to get to the first game,” Baker said. ” I always get a little more nervous about the opener. We all have a little rust that we need to knock off, that first game is always fun and always a big learning experience.

3 “One of the games I’m most looking forward to has got to be Ridgeline,” Junior WR/LB Luke Rich. “We play them at Utah State and they are always a good team so it’ll be a good game.”

3 “I’m most excited for the Tooele game,” Olson said.

Tooele

2022 record: 2-8

The Tooele Buffaloes had a very upsetting season last season. They had historically been a good team under coach Andru Jones, but after their coaching shift, they seemed to take a big step back. They went from a seven win playoff contender to the little brother of Tooele County.

The Buffs only completed 40.2% of their passes, and threw 11 interceptions to just six touchdowns. They had just four yards per carry on the ground, with 19 touchdowns, while also fumbling the ball 23 times, and actually losing it 16 of those times. They managed only 264.8 yards per game. On defense, they had 19 sacks, six interceptions, a blocked field goal, and only four fumbles recovered.

This year, the Buffs will lose their leading receiver, Bronson Larrat, RBs Wesley Tso and Lucas Rydalch. On defense, they will lose Luke Avina and Brock Thrall. They will return their less-than-stellar QB Kaden Dean.

With head coach BJ Hunter leading them for another season, the Buffs have some serious issues to figure out before they can become a contender again. Tooele football will return on Friday, August 11th at 7 PM. Their opponent will be the Cyprus Pirates.

Region Rivalries

This season, look out for heated rivalries between Tooele and Stansbury, Park City and Stansbury, Murray and Hillcrest, Murray and Cottonwood, and Jordan and Murray. The Tooele-Stansbury rivalry, along with Murray’s rivalries, are all known to divide communities and bring out the best school spirit and support.

Featured image credit: Laura Seitz, Deseret News