The Hive Sports

by AJ Conlin

High school football in Utah returns on Friday, August 11, 2023. Favorite hometown teams are about to return to the field. In wake of the region re-alignment, this insider’s look on all of the schools in Region 8 is pivotal for football fans of all ages.

Mountain View

2022 record: 1-9

The Mountain View Bruins had a less than stellar season last year, beating only the winless Hillcrest Huskies. There were only two other games where they were competitive: a 35-21 loss to Uintah, and their 41-31 win over Hillcrest. They also recorded just 260.2 total yards per game. Defensively, they weren’t much better, recording only 13 sacks, two fumbles, and six interceptions.

However, this season will be different. Despite losing key players in RB Messi Pahulu and DL Drason Havea, they will return junior QB Sei Lotoa Lesa and WR Kalvin Floyd. Those two, along with lineman Michael Earnest are expected to make some noise this season.

“We’ve been doing HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), power lifting, 5v5, running, and camp at Lake Tahoe,” Michael Ernest said. “We ended up winning the trench wars against all of those California and Vegas teams.”

Under head coach Abe Poduska for another season, the Bruins will be looking to improve their record. They will also need to find a way to fill holes in the depth chart this season. Mountain View football will return on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 7 p.m MST. Their opponent will be the Canyon View Falcons.

Payson

2022 record: 7-4

The Payson Lions had a historic 2022. They earned their first winning season in over 50 years! Their coaching was impressive enough first year Coach Arnold Ale, who was hired away to the 6A Westlake Thunder over the offseasob.

Two of Payson’s losses were close games decided by a field goal. The Lions padded their stats this season, too, with 383.5 yards per game on offense. Defensively, they had a whopping 101.5 tackles for loss, 28 sacks, 16 interceptions, and eight forced fumbles.

This year, Payson has a ton of returning talent from both sides of the ball. QB/WR duo Kade Edwards and Cooper Swasey will return for their senior season, along with Dylan Wall as another receiving option. Zayden Cook will return on both sides of the line.

“Coach Wall has been busting us in the gym,” Zayden Cook said. He’s been getting us really physically prepared for the season, along with film.”

Behind first year head coach Brian Wall, the Lions are expected to hit the ground running this season with their stacked returning players. Payson football will return on Friday August 11, 2023 at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles.

Provo

2022 record: 6-4

The Provo Bulldogs were a good team last year, losing only four games which were all within a possession. They kept a standard of 345 yards of offense per game, with 32 tackles for loss, nine sacks, 15 interceptions, and three forced fumbles.

“We have 15-16 returning starters,” Garret Deucher said. “We are poised to make a huge run this year! We had great success on 7-on-7. Timpanogos came over for a padded practice, and we beat them up. We had a great camp with Lehi. We outscored them every 7-on-7. We are right where we thought we would be heading into fall camp. People are talking about other schools. We will be ready.“

Behind head coach Kirk Chambers, the Bulldogs are very confident going into this season. Provo football will return on Friday, August 11, at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be the Grantsville Cowboys.

Salem Hills

2022 record: 2-8

The Salem Hills Skyhawks did not have a good season last year. None of the games they played had close outcomes, excluding their 34-31 loss to Bear River. They only had 285.7 offensive yards per game, while losing eight fumbles over the season. Defensively, they had 12 interceptions, just seven sacks, and two recovered fumbles.

This season, the Skyhawks lost QB Jackson Nelson, along with their star WR/RB Jed Hughes, who averaged 135.5 yards from rushing and receiving, with 7.8 tackles per game defensively. They will also lose LB Garrett Holt, who averaged a whopping 11.6 tackles per game. Despite losing a couple of key players, they’ll have guys like TE/DEs Max Gustin and Alex Cloward, WRs Kort Stewart and Ethan Houghton, DT Sam Kinikini, and QB Jedi Nelson.

“Going into our first game, I am feeling really good,” Roper Kay said. “These guys (Sky View) took a game from us last year and our team has been motivated to beat them ever since. We are all looking forward to playing them week 1.”

With another season under head coach Jeff Higginson, the Skyhawks will obviously be looking to improve their record this year, and set the record straight about what kind of team they are. Salem Hills football will return on Friday, August 11, 2023 at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be the Sky View Bobcats.

Spanish Fork

2022 record: 7-3

The Spanish Fork Dons had an exciting season last year. They dropped two games to powerhouses in Crimson Cliffs and Springville. Their third loss was a disappointing, seven point upset to Wasatch in the playoffs. Almost all of the rest of their games were won by two scores or less. They averaged 335.2 yards per game on offense. Defensively, they had 58 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight interceptions, ten fumble recoveries, and two blocked field goals.

The Dons will lose the heart and soul of their offense, RB Joshua Buck this season. Buck had 146.1 rushing yards per game and had 11 touchdowns on the season. They are also going without their entire main receiving corps. They will be keeping their starting QB, Will Dart, and almost all of their defensive personnel.

Going into this season under renowned head coach Dustin Smith, the Dons will look to find answers to the holes in the offense this year, and continue being a winning program. Spanish Fork football will return on Friday, August 11th at 6 PM. Their opponent will be the Olympus Titans.

Featured image credit: Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald