NORTH OGDEN — Success has been minimal for Weber High football coach Richard Murray in his first two years with the program. In both 2005 and 2006, the Warriors finished with a 1-5 region record and a 2-7 overall record.
On paper, it doesn't exactly look like Murray's got the program headed in the right direction, but he believes year three will be much improved from his first two.
"Our attitude's a lot better. They've been in the system for three years, they have a pretty good understanding of what we're doing here," said Murray. "They feel a lot more comfortable with me, and I do with them."
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they aren't the only team that's improved in 2007. With the exception of perhaps Davis and Viewmont, nearly every other team in Region 1 figures to be improved from last year. That should make competition for the league's five playoff spots fierce.
Murray believes his team can be in that hunt.
Even though Weber only returns one offensive starter and four defensive starters, the talent is there to be competitive. Murray, however, doesn't want his players to get too caught up wins and losses.
"My expectations for this team is that these kids play good football, bottom line," said Murray.
That hasn't been the case the past two years, but he's hoping that changes in 2007. There are numerous obstacles to overcome, however, before his hope becomes a reality.
As of last week, Murray still hadn't decided who his starting quarterback and running backs would be. That can be interpreted one of two ways: from a positive standpoint, it can mean several players are more than capable, but from a negative standpoint it can also mean no one's really stepped up and emerged as the starter.
With Weber's option offense, the quarterback spot is vital, which Murray even said himself, "we've got to have a leader at quarterback."
Spencer Hohman and Nick Sorensen are the two players vying for that spot.
At running back, Dustin Martin, Chase Thompson and T.J. Moser are all in the mix, but the team needs one or two to really seperate from the pack.
In many respects, it's that way across the board for Weber.
"I can't tell you that we have any one guy that's an amazing, superstar stud football player," said Murray. "We've got blue-collar guys that work hard."
With a season-opening game at home against highly regarded Box Elder, coach Murray will find out pretty soon just how far his program has come this past offseason.
Weber Warriors 2007 football preview
Coach: Prior to taking over as Weber's head coach, Richard Murray spent several years as an assistant at Canyon View High School. He graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas.
Key players: Juniors Chase Thompson and T.J. Moser will be critical on both sides of the ball. Both will start at linebacker, and both should see time at various running back positions in Weber's option offense. Denton Coleman is the only returning starter on the offense line. Dustin Martin and Brad Ferguson will also be key guys in Weber's linebacking core.
Strengths: For a team coming off back-to-back 2-7 seasons, there aren't many strengths. Murray is hoping his team's blue-collar approach evolves into a strength.
Question marks: Weber's numbers are way down this year, therefore depth is an issue. Even though the team has a decent senior class, there are only 11 juniors on the team, which doesn't exactly bode well for 2008 either. "That's the way it goes sometimes," said Murray. "But the kids we have are excellent." The program has a very large sophomore class, and several of them may be called upon at the varsity level throughout the year.
Last season: 2-7, lost in a three-way Region 1 playoff in game.
Projected Region 1 finish: Seventh.
Postseason possibilities: With as talented as the rest of the region appears to be this year, Weber will have its work cut out simply to sneak into the playoffs.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com