Note: Tooele finished with a 2-8 overall record in 2010 and an 1-5 record in Region 6. It did not qualify for the playoffs.
TOOELE — In four seasons as a 4A school, Tooele missed the playoffs all four years and finished with a combined 10-29 record.
Kyle Brady, the 2002 Deseret News Mr. Football recipient who led Tooele to its last state championship, was an assistant coach the past two years and could sense the kids expected to lose whenever they stepped on the field.
Changing that mentality is Brady's first order of business after being named the head football coach at his alma mater eight years after graduating.
"I think the kids just got demoralized thinking they couldn't win, so that's the first thing I tried to do was change the attitude. It doesn't matter if we're in 3A or 4A, we can win games. If we believe we can win games we can win games," said Brady.
Dropping into 3A won't hurt though, as Tooele is back in Region 11 with foes like Stansbury, Grantsville, Morgan and Bear River.
Brady knows he can't turn the program around overnight, but he's already seen positive strides. Eighty kids came out to Tooele's camp this summer, 30 more than last year. Tooele's new coach knows a lot of that has to do with his reputation at Tooele and as a former player at the University of Utah.
"I've got two brothers that play right now. Most of the kids that are on the team I know, they're friends with brothers, they've been coming to my house since I was playing. I know that a lot of the kids look up to me cause I played out here and they followed me when I went to college," said Brady.
With the season less than two weeks aware, Brady has been pleasantly surprised how quickly the team has picked up the new offense. He said the offense is ahead of the defense, which hasn't really changed much.
That's very encouraging considering Tooele's defense should be a strong point this year, led by strong side linebacker Tyler McMain.
"He's our best player right now. He's making plays that it takes most kids until the middle of the season to figure out," said Brady.
Offensively, Alvaro Fernandez is making great strides at quarterback. He played receiver the last few years in Tooele's option offense, but he has a cannon for an arm which should stretch opposing defenses. Tell Stewart has emerged as a surprisingly quality receiver this summer with his great route running.
Brady's ambitious goal in his first year is to score a lot of points and be stingy defense. It's what every coach hopes for, but in Tooele the community is starving for him to succeed.
"It's always good to come back to your hometown where you have a lot of support. So I'm pretty excited about that. There's been a good vibe around the town," he said.
Beating Judge in the season opener at home would be a great first step.
Tooele Buffaloes at a glance
Coach: Kyle Brady is entering his first year as a head coach at Tooele after serving as an assistant coach to Ray Groth for two years. He's a graduate of Tooele High School, and was the 2002 Deseret News Mr. Football recipient.
Offense
(6 returning starters; I-formation offense)
Brady isn't committed to just one offensive philosophy, saying it's easier for him to adjust to his kids than for them to adjust to whatever offense he wants to run. That may change in time, but this year expect to see a lot of different formations for the Buffaloes. Damon Thomas is poised to be one of Tooele's primary ball carriers. On the line, Danny Leakehe is a big, strong, fast kid who Tooele will try to get out in the open to block for the running backs. Cache Summers is another quality returning starter on the line.
Defense
(6 returning starters)
Tooele was one of the more porous defense in 4A last year, but Tooele's new coaches are out to change that trend. McMain and Thomas are excellent linebackers while Leakehe is a quality defense end who's very good at coming off the edge. Scott Brady is a returning starter at safety while Taylor Haskell is a returning starter at corner back. If another safety and corner emerge to solidify those positions, Tooele should be pretty good this year.
Coaches preseason Region 11 straw poll: Third
Deseret News Region 11 prediction: Fifth
Bottom line: There's an excitement about Tooele football that hasn't been there since Brady graduated in 2003. He'll need to win football games for that trend to continue though. There's enough returning talent on both sides of the ball for Tooele to be competitive this season and fight for a playoff spot in what should be a quality region from top to bottom. A relatively tough preseason schedule will help Tooele prepare for the region grind.
2011 Schedule
Aug. 19 — JUDGE MEMORIAL, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26 — at West, 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 — at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 — HILLCREST, 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 — STANSBURY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23 — at Grantsville, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 — OGDEN, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 — at Morgan, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 — at Ben Lomond, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 — BEAR RIVER, 7 p.m.
EMAIL: jedward@desnews.com