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Deseret News
High school football: Region 3 promises excitement and unpredictability once again in 2024
By James Edward,
5 hours ago
Corner Canyon and Lehi play in high school football semifinal action at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Corner Canyon won 63-24. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
In the first post-Corner Canyon season of Region 3 football last fall, two storylines unfolded.
First, the region was great again and deserved its reputation as the SEC of high school football. Secondly, it was wildly unpredictable from week to week — especially with Pleasant Grove.
The coaches predicted Pleasant Grove to finish last in the region, but the Vikings ended up tying for second and were one play away from reaching the semifinals.
Three Region 3 teams ended up advancing to the 6A semifinals, but it was Corner Canyon that ultimately won the state championship.
Heading into the 2024 season, there’s a similar sentiment about the quality of Region 3 and its unpredictability.
In the preseason 6A coaches rankings, Region 3 teams occupy the No. 2 through 5 spots behind preseason favorite Corner Canyon. Within the region though, three different teams received first-place votes as there was no consensus among the coaches.
Some gave the nod to Lehi which returns seven starters defensively and perhaps more importantly its semifinal starting QB from a year ago, Jett Niu. Some gave the nod to last year’s 6A runner-up Skyridge, which returns just as many defensive starters as Lehi but has questions at QB. Another gave the nod to Lone Peak, which was on the receiving end of several transfers, including Alta starting quarterback last year, Kepa Niumeitolu.
Ultimately, Lehi got the slightest of nods ahead of Skyridge and Lone Peak in the coaches preseason projections, with American Fork picked fourth, Westlake in fifth and Pleasant Grove once again in sixth.
“Region 3 is always a gauntlet and I would expect it to be no different this year,” said Lone Peak coach Bart Brockbank.
Last year was Lehi’s first in 6A as it made the jump from 5A and replaced Corner Canyon in Region 3. It took some early lumps in region with blowout losses to American Fork and Skyridge, but regrouped down the stretch to beat Lone Peak and Pleasant Grove to finish tied for second.
The Pioneers advanced to the semifinals, but were throttled by Corner Canyon 63-24. The sour taste of that loss has been motivation all offseason.
“Obviously I told them we should all be embarrassed how the last game ended, we didn’t play well at all, credit to Corner Canyon,” said Lehi coach Ed Larson.
Corner Canyon racked up over 700 yards of total offense in what was a humbling ouster for Lehi. Larson’s defense was fairly young a year ago, but with seven starters back this season he expects his defense to be much improved.
Offensively, Lehi is in good shape with experience at QB and running back with Devaughn Eka returning. The concern is on the offensive line, with no full-time starters returning.
“That’s the group that has to gel for us to be good,” said Larson.
Region 3 high school football projections
For Skyridge, its strength is in the offensive trenches as it eyes a third straight trip to the 6A championship game. It returns five starters from its O-line a year ago, a group led by Oklahoma commit Dariius Afalava. Defensively it has seven starters back led by linebacker De’Shawn Toilolo.
The question for Skyridge is at QB. A year ago the program benefitted from Jackson Stevens transferring from Davis, with the senior throwing for over 4,000 yards and 50 touchdowns.
This year a pair of juniors who saw a tiny bit of mop-up time as sophomores are vying for the starting job, Bosten Fountaine and Kaneal Sweetwyne. All of the skill position players will be varsity newcomers as well.
Statistically in 2023, Lone Peak was a middle of the road team in 6A as it finished 11th in scoring offense and 10th in scoring defense.
Coach Brockbank said his team will be relatively young this season, but it certainly has talent to lean on. Offensively three starters return on the line led by highly recruited Austin Pay.
Niumeitolu is a notable transfer from Alta after he led the Hawks to the 5A semifinals a year ago. Tight end Bear Tenney is a move-in from Texas who has already committed to Nebraska.
Defensively the Knights are talented, but young and inexperienced at the varsity level with just three returning starters.
American Fork won the Region 3 title a year ago, but with just two starters back offensively and one defensively, expectations for the program are a bit muted compared to years past.
“We were very senior heavy last year, and our young guys will get a chance to compete and fill those holes this season. Our seniors last year did a great job of providing an example of what it takes to be successful, and it will be fun to watch this team get their opportunity,” said American Fork coach Aaron Behm.
Pleasant Grove, the Cinderella team of 2023, is in a similar position as American Fork with very little varsity experience returning, a big receiving it was projected to finish bottom of Region 3 in 2024.
For Westlake, expectations are almost always low for a program with one winning season in its 15 seasons since opening its doors in 2009. But heading into Arnold Ale’s second year as head coach there’s a bit of a buzz about the program being collectively more competitive this season.
Has 19 years of head coaching experience in Utah, including the past 10 at Lehi where his teams are 79-44 including state titles in 2017, 2021 and 2022. His overall head coaching record is 111-93 with stops at Provo (1993-1994), Ogden (2004-2005) and Timpanogos (2010-2013). He’s a graduate of Piedmont Hills High School in California and the University of New Mexico.
Coach Ed Larson’s general outlook
“We are looking forward to our second season in the 6A ranks. We will have far more Friday night experience this year than we had last year. We will have a good mix of seniors and juniors at all spots on offense as well as on defense. Our kicking game will be strong with Gavin Fenn returning to kick for us. We have a strong nonconference schedule as well as conference schedule. The most important aspect this team needs to solve is how to play unselfishly by trusting their teammates.”
Heads into his second season after leading Skyridge to a 11-3 record and 6A runner-up finish last year. He previously coached Brighton for three years as his teams posted a 26-7 record. He’s a graduate of Piqua High School in Ohio and Adrian College in Michigan.
Coach Justin Hemm’s general outlook
“Players have had a great offseason and are eager to get the season going. We have some new teams on the schedule and will be challenged every week. We have a strong nucleus of returners up front on both sides with some new faces in the skill positions. These guys have been in the program and are excited for their opportunity to play on Friday nights.”
Entering his eighth season as head coach at Lone Peak, where he’s compiled a 57-32 record during that stretch and state titles in 2018 and 2021. He’s a graduate of Lehi High School and BYU.
Coach Bart Brockbank’s general outlook
“We have returning starters on defense that will need to bring along a young offense to begin the season. We have a lot of young players who have stepped up during the spring and expect to compete in a strong region.”
Entering his 15th season as American Fork’s head coach, where he’s guided the team to an 102-66 record. He led the Cavemen to runner-up appearances in 2014, 2018 and 2019. He’s a graduate of Grant Community High School and Trinity International University, both in Illinois.
Coach Aaron Behm’s general outlook
“Hoping to build off of last season’s region championship. We were very senior heavy last year, and our young guys will get a chance to compete and fill those holes this season. Our seniors last year did a great job of providing an example of what it takes to be successful, and it will be fun to watch this team get their opportunity.”
Entering his second year season as head coach at Westlake after a 2-10 debut season in 2023. Prior to that he was the head coach at Payson in 2022, where team went 7-4. He’s a graduate of Carson High in California and UCLA.
Coach Arnold Ale’s general outlook
“Our success both on and off the field will be determined by our level of buy-in to the program vision and expectations.”
Offensive coordinator: Sam Kekuaolakani; Westlake Offensive Staff
Entering his fourth season as head coach at Pleasant Grove, where his teams have posted a 16-19 record the past three years. He’s a graduate of Lone Peak and Weber State.
Coach Taylor Walkenhorst’s general outlook
“After a fun 2023 season where we went 9-3, we will be a very young team for 2024. We do not have a lot of varsity experience returning. This summer the focus is on getting more explosive and helping each athlete gain speed. We are also focused on helping players learn the technique necessary to be successful within their role and responsibility on the team.”
Offensive coordinator: Taylor Walkenhorst
2023 offense: 29.08 ppg (No. 10 in 6A)
Two returning starters
Elements of Spread and West Coast Offense, RPO based
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