Note: South Sevier finished with a 6-5 overall record in 2014 and tied for second in 2A South with a 4-2 record. It lost to South Summit 49-0 in the 2A semifinals.


South Sevier 2014 stat recap

MONROE — In his five seasons as South Sevier’s head coach, Weston Zabriskie has methodically steered a football program in a basketball town out of mediocrity.

Last season, the Rams finished with a 6-5 record, their first above-.500 record under Zabriskie, and started to show even more signs of evolving into a solid program.

It was eventually dismantled 49-0 by South Summit in the semifinals, but simply getting to the semis was an accomplishment for last year’s team.

“We feel like we’re building a good foundation, and now it’s just getting everybody more bought in,” said Zabriskie.

That blowout loss to eventual-champ South Summit was an eye opener, but an important one in the evolution of the program. Zabriskie refers to that loss every once and a while when his players think they’re working hard enough.

“Look how hard we worked last year, and obviously that wasn’t enough. You’ve got to find ways to work harder,” said Zabriskie.

While the South Summit loss was a reality check, the four weeks leading up to that game showed the true progress of the program. It upset Beaver in Week 8 to help secure a tie for second in 2A South, and then in the 2A quarterfinals it beat North Summit 14-6. Considering it lost to North Summit by four touchdowns just a month earlier, it was a stunning reversal.

The challenge for South Sevier this year is to try to take that next step, even though when on paper it looks like a rebuilding year.

Even though there’s strength in the trenches with four returning starters, the experience ends after Easton Roundy, Braxton Vakautakakala, Davy Wagner and Carson Parker. South Sevier must replace its two-time all-state quarterback, its top four rushers and every receiver who caught a pass last year.

“There’s a pretty steep learning curve from all the kids we lost from the year before, but we have a lot of kids ready to work hard and battle for positions,” said Zabriskie.

That inexperience has actually created a lot of healthy competition this summer.

“It’s made camp fun because the kids are all competing and we have three or four kids that are battling each other and pushing each other every day for those open spots. It’s made camp a lot more fun,” said Zabriskie.

One area where there isn’t competition is at quarterback. Junior Buddy Gardner was the JV starter last year, and he’s slid right into the varsity role this year. He has big shoes to fill after Trevor Jones, but Gardner’s coach said he’s very competitive and prepares very well.

South Sevier’s running back slots are up in the air. Juniors Jared Grant and Kayson Borg, sophomore Carter Anderson and freshman Tyson Chisholm are getting relatively equal reps right now as the coaching staff tries to narrow down the starter.

Which backs end up in the rotation, they should benefit from a big and experienced offensive line that will feature 310-pound Vakautakakala and 260-pound Bagley.

Wide receivers Keeper Farnsworth and Trayton Nielson have had strong summers and might emerge as the go-to threats on the field along with Cooper Roundy.

On the defensive side of the ball, Bagley and Easton Roundy are returning starters on the defensive line while Davy Wagner and Cooper Roundy are returners at linebacker.

As far as 2A schedules go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more difficult one than the gauntlet South Sevier faces this season.

Between Weeks 3 and 6, the Rams play Summit Academy, South Summit, San Juan and Beaver in consecutive weeks — with only the Summit Academy game at home. Those are the top four 2A teams in the Deseret News coaches' preseason rankings.

It’s not inconceivable that South Sevier could lose all four games, but then again it’s not unrealistic to think it can win three or four too.

If they can just endure the stretch and stay healthy, the Rams have three winnable games at home to close the season, which is a great chance to build momentum toward the playoffs.

“Early on we’re going to have to figure some stuff out, but that usually has been the case with us, by the end of the year we’ll have everything really going and build some momentum toward the playoffs,” said Zabriskie.

The past couple years, South Sevier has been a dangerous team in the playoffs, and that could happen again as the newcomers in the skill positions acclimate to varsity football.

South Sevier Rams at a glance

Coach: Weston Zabriskie is entering his sixth year as head coach at South Sevier, having compiled an 18-35 record in his previous five years. He’s a graduate of North Sanpete High School.

Offense (4 returning starters; spread offense)

Offensive coordinator: Weston Zabriskie

Returning offensive starters

Easton Roundy (OL)

Braxton Vakautakakala (OL)

Davy Wagner (OL)

Carson Parker (OL)

Offensive newcomers to watch

Cooper Roundy (TE)

Buddy Gardner (QB)

Jared Grant (RB)

Kayson Borg (RB)

Carter Anderson (RB)

Tyson Chisholm (RB)

Keeper Farnsworth (WR)

Trayton Nielson (WR)

Defense (4 returning starters, 4-3 defense)

Defensive coordinator: Spencer Lindsay & Taylor Brower

Returning defensive starters

Bridger Bagley (DL)

Easton Roundy (DL)

Davy Wagner (LB)

Cooper Roundy (LB)

Defensive newcomers to watch

Buddy Gardner (DB)

Braxton Vakautakakala (DL)

Jared Grant (LB)

Tyson Chisholm (LB)

Coaches preseason 2A South straw poll: Fourth

Deseret News 2A South prediction: Fourth

Bottom line: There was a stretch in the middle of last season in which South Sevier was blown out by Enterprise and North Summit in consecutive weeks. A few weeks later it upset Beaver and then in the playoffs somehow reversed that blowout against North Summit to advance to the semifinals. If South Sevier expects to take that next step as a program, it needs to find more consistency. Winning every game isn’t realistic, but upper-echelon teams don’t lose by scores of 47-0, 48-0 and 49-0 — all scores that South Sevier lost by last year. The next step in the rejuvenation of South Sevier’s program is being in every game in the fourth quarter.

Last 5

2014 — 6-5 (4-2 in 2A South, semifinals)

2013 — 4-7 (2-4 in 2A South, quarterfinals)

2012 — 4-6 (2-5 in 2A South, missed playoffs)

2011 — 1-8 (1-6 in 2A South, missed playoffs)

2010 — 3-9 (0-5 in 2A West, semifinals)

South Sevier coaching history

2010-current — Weston Zabriskie (18-35)

2003-2009 — Travis McAllister (34-35)

1998-2002 — Clint Christiansen (26-26)

1993-1997 — Brent Hafen (7-38)

1992 — Ron Winegar (1-8)

1991 — Rick Orr (1-7)

1984-1990 — Alfred Frehner (13-48)

1981-1983 — Garry Walker (6-20)

1980 — David Hare (6-5)

1971-1979 — Richard Orr (55-39)

1970 — Mike Jones (2-9)

Deseret News First Team All-Staters the past 10 years

2014 — Trevor Jones, QB/DB

2014 — Avery Healey, RB/LB

2014 — Brock Bastian, TE/LB

2013 — Wyatt Anderson, OL/DL

2012 — Wyatt Anderson, OL/DL

2011 — Patrick Baker, RB/DB

2010 — Logan Baker, TE/LB

2010 — Clayton Higginson, OL/LB

2009 — Ryan Anderson, OL/DL

2009 — Dillon Bishoff, WR/LB

2009 — Jace Mecham, OL/LB

2008 — Landon Leavitt, RB/LB

2008 — Scott Mathie, OL/LB

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2006 — Jason Leavitt, RB/LB

2005 — Carson Christensen, QB

2005 — Carson Christensen, QB

To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.

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