Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Deseret News
High school football: Morgan, Grantsville stand atop 3A North preseason rankings
By Carson Hilton,
6 hours ago
Juan Diego takes on Morgan during a high school football game at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. | Yukai Peng, Deseret News
Consistently region title contenders, the Morgan Trojans have clinched four consecutive region titles and have won seven since 2016. Morgan has only lost two in-region games since 2019 while also taking home the 3A state championship in 2022.
With less than a month remaining until opening night, coaches across the region are in agreement: The Trojans are once again the favorites to seize the 3A North Region title.
“We’ve just got a lot of good kids that put in a lot of work and time to prepare themselves, so that when they get to high school, they’re already prepared to be successful,” said Morgan head coach Jared Barlow.
Morgan had a strong presence on both sides of the ball in 2023. The Trojans’ defense allowed only 227 total points, the second fewest total points allowed in all of 3A. The offense was equally impressive, averaging a blistering 35.5 points scored per game.
The Trojans tore through 3A opponents in the regular season, only suffering losses to 4A opponents. Morgan continued to look good in the state tournament after a dominant 49-7 victory over Union in the quarterfinals, but the Trojans couldn’t handle Manti in the 3A semifinals.
While many teams could be satisfied with that result and might consider that an outstanding season, Morgan isn’t just any team.
The semifinal loss caused the Trojans to miss their first 3A state championship game since 2018, and as Barlow looks ahead to his fifth season as head coach, he’s noticed the semifinal loss lit an extra fire underneath his team while working with them over the summer.
“I think the boys are really motivated because of the finish we had last year,” Barlow said. “It might seem kind of dumb because it’s still only a semifinal loss, but there’s a lot of kids that thought that we should have done a little bit better than what we did last year.”
While it hunts for another state title, Morgan will return only four offensive starters from last season. Luckily for the Trojans, senior quarterback Beck Sheffield is among those returning and will help Morgan retain much needed continuity.
During the 2023 season, Sheffield recorded a passing percentage of 0.648 on 330 attempts for 2,657 yards and 26 touchdowns. That earned him a spot on the 3A All-State list as an honorable mention.
However, Morgan’s starting quarterback decision is not set in stone, and junior quarterback Cade Randall has excited Barlow. Barlow said he could see either Randall or Sheffield starting for the Trojans on opening night.
“Having (Sheffield) come back is great,” said Barlow. “He’s coming off a pretty good year last year and having a season of varsity football under his belt is always good.
“One of the things that we certainly have is depth. We have (Randall) right behind (Sheffield) and he’s been pushing (Sheffield) all summer. They’ve been battling, helping make each other better and honestly, right now either one could start for us.”
While Morgan looks to have a strong reload this year, Grantsville won’t roll over and allow Morgan to take the region for the fifth time in a row.
Grantsville alumni and longtime assistant coach David Millward has taken the reins as the Cowboys’ head coach this season.
The last thing Millward wanted to do as he took the head coach job was to ruin the culture and continuity that Grantsville had. So, Millward decided to keep Danny Warren onboard as his defensive coordinator and keep Josh McMorris as offensive coordinator.
Grantsville has not won a region title outright since 2019. Since then, it’s been all Morgan at the top, outside of a first place tie in 2021.
“It always goes through Morgan,” Millward said. “They have such a good program up there and they’re just consistently good. It’s always tough to go up there and I always love and hate playing Morgan.”
Along with the returning coordinators, Grantsville returns six offensive starters and seven defensive starters.
The Cowboys’ offense in 2023 struggled, generating only 17.33 points per game, which ranked as ninth in 3A. Grantsville’s offense will feature a lot of young players this season, including sophomore quarterback Dallan Van Vliet.
Van Vliet started at quarterback for Grantsville his freshman year and struggled to find consistency. The team is hopeful that Van Vliet will find his footing with a year of varsity under his belt.
Millward knows that Grantsville had a young team in 2023, but he believes that experience will help the Cowboys as they enter the 2024 season.
“Last year we ended up having to play a few freshmen, just because we were so young and we had some injuries,” said Millward. “We just had had some kids who had to step up.
“Of course, you always wish you had all seniors, but that’s never going to happen. Even though we were young last year, the experience that they got will really help and will translate into this year.”
Morgan and Grantsville stand as a solid one and two in the 3A North region. What is less predictable is what will happen between three and six.
Despite finishing in the bottom of the region last season, Union was voted to improve and find its way to third place.
Last year was a transition phase for the Cougars as Dustin Long settled into his first year as head coach. The Cougars ended their season with a 2-9 record. They could not get an in-region win.
But there is hope for Union as it looks to recover from last season: It will return 13 starters, six from offense and seven from defense.
As he prepares for his second season as head coach, Long says the culture has completely changed and he knows his boys have the ability to find ways to win.
“The culture has flipped from year one to year two,” Long said. “It’s going to come down to this group learning how to win and when they figure that part out how they manage success.”
For the fourth year in a row, Ogden falls to four in the 3A North preseason preview. Tigers’ head coach Erik Thompson cited youth and inexperience as challenges his team will need to overcome this season. Thompson is hopeful that improved chemistry and playmakers will help Ogden find success.
Juan Diego is another team that is hoping to recover from a rough season. The Soaring Eagles finished with a 3-7 record and were outscored by teams by 136 points.
The school landed at fifth in this year’s preseason rankings.
Head coach Danny Larsen says there’s some energy with this school year, which marks 25 years since Juan Diego football’s inaugural season.
Larsen noted that he’s hopeful because the Soaring Eagles will have a healthy mix of experienced players and young talent. However, Larsen noted that staying healthy will be vital to Juan Diego this season.
Ben Lomond comes in at the bottom of this years 3A North region previews. A large issue for the Scots is the amount of turnover from last year. Ben Lomond lost 25 seniors from 2023 and will return only four starters — three offensive and one defensive.
Scots’ head coach Lyndon Johnson said he looks forward to how his young team steps up in this rebuilding year. He believes that his team has the potential to be very good.
Barlow is entering his fifth season as head coach at Morgan after posting a 38-11 record his first four seasons, including a state title in 2022. He previously served as an assistant coach at Morgan for 15 years. He’s a graduate of Morgan High School and Weber State.
Coach Jared Barlow’s general outlook
“We have a good core returning that were able to contribute at a high level last season. Many players have been putting in a lot of time improving themselves and their teammates. We look forward to the opportunity to grow together as a team and community throughout the season. Expectations are high and if we can truly come together as a team and community, expectations can be a reality.”
A longtime Grantsville assistant coach, Millward is taking over as head coach at his alma mater this year. He’s a graduate of the University of Utah.
Coach David Millward’s general outlook
“We hope to continue the Grantsville Football tradition of playing tough, hard-nosed football. The players are showing their dedication to this tradition through hard work both in the weight room and on the field to become the best that they can be. We have some good players coming back at some key spots that will help us be very competitive this year, along with some new athletes that we feel can contribute to our team. I am very excited for this season to see what we can accomplish on and off the field.”
Long is heading into his second season at the helm for the Cougars after his team went 2-9 in his debut season in 2023. He’s a graduate of Juab High and Thomas Edison University.
Coach Dustin Long’s general outlook
“It’s going to come down to this group learning how to win and, when they figure that part out, how they manage success. Lots feel like managing losing is hard, but managing success is harder. We’ve got good leadership but the reality is they’ve never managed winning. They’ve got the talent to do it, it’s going to be how do they handle higher expectations week to week when they do find a win streak. The culture has flipped from year one to year two — all for the better. We are thin at skills but we’ve got a lot more depth than I’m used to up front. Losing our leader and all-state QB (knee) isn’t what we envisioned to start the year and it breaks my heart for him, but the kids have rallied around the young kid we’ve got back there and I’m excited to see how they respond to that adversity. If this team can learn how to win early and build confidence, … I wouldn’t wanna play them.”
Thompson is entering his eighth season as head coach at Ogden, where his teams own a 31-47 record the past seven years. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Northridge for 13 seasons from 2004 to 2016, finishing with a 79-60 record. He’s a graduate of Roy High School and Mesa State.
Coach Erik Thompson’s general outlook
“Our team will be young and inexperienced. But we have great team chemistry, they are working hard, and we have some playmakers that will make a difference. I look forward to coaching this group of young men that are a F.A.M.I.L.Y. and fight to the finish.”
The West High and Dixie State graduate is entering his first season as head coach at Juan Diego.
Coach Danny Larsen’s general outlook
“This year is our 25th anniversary. In honor of those who did it before us, we have set our expectations high. Our schedule is tough. We play three of the top ranked 3A teams, two of the top ranked 2A teams, a 5A semifinalist from a year ago, our rival who we haven’t played in a while, and the other three are region road games in a region where nothing is a given. We do have a lot of experience returning with some nice young talent mixed in. Staying healthy will be critical, but this team is ready for the challenge. They are motivated by last season’s down year and come playoffs they will be a tough out.”
Johnson is entering his sixth season as Ben Lomond’s head coach. He has posted a 14-51 record over the past five years. He’s a graduate of Rich High School and Weber State. Johnson’s previous head coaching experience all came on the hardcourt as he spent 15 combined years as head coach at Roy, Brighton and Northridge.
Coach Lyndon Johnson’s general outlook
“We look forward to building on the success of the 2023 season. We lost 25 seniors last year but have some keys guys returning on the offensive line and other key positions on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, we return only one starter but we like our guys in on that side of the ball and think this group can be very good. Overall this group is fun to coach and competitive. The Scots of 2024 look forward to the season.”
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Most Popular
Comments / 0