Note: Viewmont finished 3-6 overall in 2010 and went 2-6 in Region 1. It did not qualify for the state playoffs.
BOUNTIFUL — There's some great new scenery out there that might be real nice to look at this year, and there are plenty of familiar faces, too.
No, we're not talking about our next family vacation, but the Viewmont High football team is definitely planning on having a fun trip this season.
The Vikings have moved into the new scenery of a revamped Region 2, where they'll no longer face that eight-game juggernaut of a league schedule they formerly played in Region 1. Instead, they'll be the northernmost school in a league that also includes Granger, Hunter, Kearns, Taylorsville and West.
And as far as familiar faces go, well, Viewmont has 18 returning starters — eight on offense and 10 on defense — to help lead the Vikings on their quest for victories.
Brad Lloyd begins his third season as the Vikings' head coach with an experienced squad which has oodles of speed on both sides of the ball. They're hoping that'll be the catalyst to propel them to success after struggling through a 3-7 season last year.
"I know that Region 1 is a dogfight every week, and the last two state runner-ups have come from Region 1 in Davis and Fremont," Lloyd said.
"But those coaches know how to coach in Region 2 and they have really good kids, too. I fully anticipate West is going to be a good team, Hunter is always one of the top two teams in that league, and I've heard some real good things about Kearns and I think they have quite a few returning players.
"We're one of the smallest 5A schools in the state," Lloyd said. "Some of those 5A schools have 800 to 900 more kids than we do. And that certainly helps your depth and those kinds of things when you've got those kind of numbers. But I really like our kids because we have a lot of returning kids. Our quarterback is back, most of our linebacker corps is back, and most of our O-line and D-line are back, too."
Josh Staples returns at quarterback, and the senior signal-caller draws plenty of praise from his coach.
"He's a really solid high school quarterback," Lloyd said. "He doesn't get rattled, and he's a tough kid who's really a coach out on the field, shows good leadership, leads by example and is a hard-nosed kid."
At running back, the Vikings will rotate reps with seniors Colton Steele, Braden Waiters, Parker Beyeler, Levi Hinze and Chris Bednar and juniors Paul Teisina and versatile Mitch Dalley, who's also a solid kick returner.
Senior Haden Heath, a three-year starter, returns at wide receiver, where he's joined by senior Tucker Bloomfield, who Coach Lloyd calls one of the fastest kids in the state. Other receivers include seniors Micah Carlson, Holden Grandstaff, Caden Handley and Cole Jacobs.
At tight end, seniors Cameron England and Riley Shingleton will see action, as will juniors John Weight and Doug Hintze.
The offensive line features senior center Luke Minhondo, senior guards Taylor O'Neal and Weston Salmon, and senior tackles Jordan Johnston, Tanner Palmer and Jaden Willey.
Over on defense, the starting linemen are Palmer, Waiters and Steele, with Hinze and Salmon at inside linebacker and Bednar and Beyeler at outside linebacker. The starting cornerbacks are Handley and Carlson, with Heath at free safety and Jacobs or Dalley at strong safety.
"We want to come out and compete, and I think we can compete with anybody," Lloyd said. "On any given day, I'm fully confident that our kids are gonna come out and battle and play as hard as they know how. No matter what the score is, these kids are going to play hard and they are going to compete.
"We've got some good team speed. We aren't going to be the biggest kids on the block, but we've got overall excellent, excellent team speed and kids that are very coachable and disciplined.
"Our strengths are our experience and our overall team speed," he said. "I think we'll be able to score points and I think defenses are really going to have to prepare for us. Our kids are really gonna fly around and pursue on defense and follow that old coaching yarn — we're gonna get 11 hats on the ball.
"Another real strength is we pride ourselves in being the best-conditioned team in the state. These kids have really worked on that. ... We are fully anticipating when that fourth quarter hits that our conditioning levels are going to kick in and we're going to have the advantage."
Lloyd said another one of his program's strengths is an excellent coaching staff that does things the right way.
"These guys I coach with are the very best," he said. "My coaches treat these kids right, and they never let the score dictate how we treat these kids. They are excellent, excellent teachers who also coach their rear ends off."
Viewmont Vikings at a glance
Coach: Brad Lloyd begins his third year as Viewmont's head coach, with an overall record of 9-12 in his first two years at the school. He is a graduate of West High.
Offense
(8 returning starters; multiple formations)
Staples returns to call the signals at quarterback, and a with bevy of running backs, Heath and Bloomfield at wide receiver and an experienced offensive line featuring England, Minhondo and Co., the Vikings should be able to put plenty of points up on the scoreboard.
Defense
(10 returning starters)
Virtually the entire starting defensive unit returns for the Vikings, with Palmer, Waiters and Steele up front, Hinze and Salmon at inside linebacker, Bednar and Beyeler at outside linebacker, Handley and Carlson at cornerback and Heath, Jacobs or Dalley at the safety spots. It shapes up as a promising season for a Viewmont team which, though not big on size, has tons of speed all around.
Coaches preseason Region 2 prediction: Fourth
Deseret News Region 2 prediction: Second
Bottom line: A ton of experience and plenty of team speed should translate into a highly successful season for the Vikings. And with the move to Region 2, they'll have three more preseason games than they were accustomed to playing in Region 1, which should help pave the way for more victories. Barring a rash of devastating injuries, a state playoff spot seems like a real safe bet and a region title is definitely not out of the question.
2011 Schedule
Aug. 19 — at Woods Cross, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26 — at Davis, 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 — LAYTON, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 — at Bountiful, 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 — LEHI, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23 — at Granger, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 — TAYLORSVILLE, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 — WEST, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 — at Kearns, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 — HUNTER, 7 p.m.
email: rhollis@desnews.com