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.
Alta
2021 record: 6-5
The Hawks had the habit of beating the teams they were supposed to beat while losing to the teams that were more talented than them. The teams they beat had a combined record of 23-33 while the teams they lost to were a combined 45-19.
Alema Te'o began coaching the Alta Hawks in the 2015 season. Since then, his teams have always earned a .500 or better record. He will hope to have an elite season this year.
With last year's quarterback Ethan Jackson signed as a preferred walk-on at Utah State, there will be an open competition for the starting quarterback position. Junior Bryce Maksen seems to be the favorite. The backup quarterbacks didn't get many attempts at all last year, but Maksen at least converted 60 percent of his five passing attempts.
Jordan
2021 record: 2-8
The Beetdiggers had the habit of getting beat in the majority of their games by a large margin. Their lone wins were convincing non-Region home victories over Taylorsville and Cottonwood.
Rodregis Smith has been the football coach for the Beetdiggers since 2020. Since then, his team has won just two games. Their last win was on September 10, 2021. They will look to improve that record as there is plenty of room to do so.
Colton Austin is back for his senior year and should be the starting quarterback again. While he completed just under 43 percent of his passes, he should be able to help his team more if he can finish more scoring drives. It was concerning that he completed just one touchdown while throwing six interceptions last year.
Lehi
2021 record: 11-3
The Pioneers were the best team in 5A last year, but that wasn't the consensus after their overtime road loss to the Davis Darts in the first week. They caught fire at the right time by spoiling Orem's senior night and winning all four of their games in the State Playoffs en route to hoisting the UHSAA 5A Championship Trophy. They won in convincing fashion over the Springville Red Devils.
Ed Larson has been the head football coach for the Pioneers since 2014. After going 0-10 in his initial season, Coach Larson can now say his program has gone from worst to first.
Jackson Brousseau will look to provide an encore performance in his senior season. The 6'5" slinger has work to do if he is going to top a historic season in which he had 3237 passing yards. He also tied for the seventh most single-season passes in state history last year with 294 completions.
Orem
2021 record: 7-6
When the Tigers ended the regular season with three straight losses, it looked like the sun was setting on their dynasty. However, they made quite the run for a #21 seed. After winning four straight state titles, the Tigers were finally tamed in the semifinals. The Springville Red Devils beat them by the narrow score of 27-26 to advance to the championship game.
Gabriel Sewell has been successful as the Orem High football coach with one title in his first two years. His sons, Nephi, Penei and Noah, have all been successful at the next level. Whether it's high school, college or pro football, the Sewell family puts their maximum effort into the craft.
With the graduation of Chase Tuatagaloa, last year's starting quarterback who signed with Utah State University, a new leader will emerge. That is likely last year's backup, Lance Reynolds. The junior completed just over 53 percent of his passes last year and will look to help the Tigers continue to contend in 5A.
Timpview
2021 record: 9-3
The Thunderbirds only lost two regular season games and both were to some of the best 6A programs in the state. While they had an early exit at the hands of Lehi, that team went on to win the championship. Lone Peak, who beat them in week 1, also won the State Championship at the 6A level so strength of schedule certainly should be factored into Timpviews overall body of work last year.
Andy Stokes, the head coach for the Thunderbirds since 2018, will not be coaching the Thunderbirds this season. Instead, Donny Atuaia will be leading the team this season. He played for BYU at the fullback position and played for Orem High School before that. He is from Laie, Hawaii.
While this is a rush heavy team, it will be imperative that the Thunderbirds find a new signal caller as the main quarterbacks in the depth chart last year have graduated. It is still to be determined who will be the starter.
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