Note: Emery finished with a 4-6 overall record in 2015 and was fourth in 3A North with a 2-3 record. It lost to North Sanpete 49-27 in 3A quarterfinals.
Emery 2015 offensive and defensive stats
EMERY — Emery High first-year coach Jon Faimalo’s eyes are on bucking the trend of losing seasons and securing the Spartans' first winning season since 2012, when Emery finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, beating Kanab in the first round of the 2A playoffs, then falling to San Juan in the quarterfinals. Emery is coming off a 4-5 regular season last year, where it suffered an early exit in the 3A playoffs, losing 49-27 to North Sanpete.
Being a first-year head coach can be hard, and Faimalo has had his fair share of challenges to deal with during his first offseason at the helm.
“Probably the biggest thing for me is all the other stuff beyond the X’s and O’s has probably been the biggest challenge,” Faimalo said. “The administrative stuff, the other bits and pieces that you have to deal with that doesn’t necessarily have to do with football.”
When it gets down to actually playing football, Faimalo is ready to go.
Faimalo says the Spartans' goals for the season are to host a home playoff game in their tough region.
In 2016, Emery returns seven offensive starters, giving Faimalo an experienced class to run his Wing-T offense.
“We’ve been running [the Wing-T] a long time, one of the big benefits for us is there is a lot of misdirection and other things. We have a huge team, and that will help us run a lot of power type stuff, and it allows us to use our quickness and our size that way,” Faimalo said.
The Spartans' best offensive weapon is senior running back Ashton Dieli — essential to Faimalo’s run-heavy offensive scheme. Last season, Dieli was one of three players in the backfield, carrying the ball 121 times for 648 yards and five touchdowns. Dieli’s counterparts in the backfield — Austin Allred and Bryce Dugmore, who combined for 1,964 yards and 26 scores last year — both graduated, passing the torch to Dieli. The big question for Faimalo and the Spartans will be if they can replace Dugmore and Allred with capable backs to complement the Wing-T.
“[Ashton] is a big part of our team. He’s a kid in his third year that’s a big part, and we have a lot of other kids that contribute, but we’re really relying on him to step up and make a lot of plays on the offensive side for us,” Faimalo said.
Emery also returns three of its top players in the offensive trenches from the previous season: Koby Butler, Logan Labrum, and Ty Mecham — all seniors.
The experience of the team is a dream come true for Faimalo.
“For a first-year head coach, it’s been really beneficial to me,” Faimalo said of his battle-tested team. “The kids know the things that we do, I’ve been with them for three years, so to me it’s been really helpful that I don’t have to reteach and we don’t have to start over from scratch on a lot of things.”
Although the Wing-T doesn’t require passing to win games, it’s obviously nice to have a deep threat for third downs and long yardage situations. Last season’s quarterback, Zac Jorgensen, returns for his senior season at Emery. Last season, Jorgensen threw for 688 yards and nine touchdowns while tallying a pass completion percentage of 46 percent. Last year’s best wide receiver, Kolton Butler, will return for his fourth season as a Spartan. In 2015, Butler caught nine balls for 209 yards and two touchdowns, but some underclassmen will have to step up to fill the shoes of Dugmore and Allred, who combined for four touchdowns and 218 receiving yards in the 2015 campaign.
On defense, Emery is even more deep. In 2016, the Spartans return eight of their eleven starters from the previous season. Koby Butler, Mecham and Kolton Butler return on the defensive line, giving the group some veteran experience and leadership, and Labrum returns as Emery’s spotlight linebacker. The Spartan defense will desperately need that experience for a defense that allowed around 34 points per game last year. Emery only managed three interceptions in 10 contests played in 2015 (two were picked off by Allred, and one was intercepted by 2016 senior Kobe Faimalo) and tallied zero sacks.
“The first thing I think we need to do is understand the positions, understand our responsibilities,” Faimalo said on improving the defense. “We changed things around a few times last year, so just getting the kids to understand their responsibilities and understand what exactly they have to do, then they can play hard and play fast.”
Emery Spartans at a glance
Coach: Jon Faimalo enters his first season as coach of the Spartans. Faimalo is a graduate of Emery High School and Snow College.
Offense: (7 returning starters, Wing-T offense)
Offensive coordinator: Jon Faimalo
Returning offensive starters
Ashton Dieli (RB)
Koby Butler (OL)
Logan Labrum (OL)
Kolton Butler (WR)
Ty Mecham (OL)
Logan Cox (RB)
Chase Jewkes (OL)
Defense: (8 returning starters, 4-2-5 defense)
Defensive coordinator: Jon Faimalo
Returning defensive starters
Koby Butler (DL)
Logan Labrum (LB)
Kolton Butler (DE)
Ty Mecham (DL)
Logan Cox (DB)
Kobe Faimalo (DB)
Chase Jewkes (LB)
Coaches' preseason 3A North straw poll: Fourth
Deseret News 3A North prediction: Fifth
Bottom line: While the Spartans have come a long way from the 1-8 season in 2014 that featured six of the now-seniors starting as sophomores, they will need to improve their defense and find capable replacements for Austin Allred and Bryce Dugmore to compete for their first region title since 1999. If they can do that, the Spartans have the experience and depth to get hot and make a run in the playoffs.
Last 5
2015 — 4-6 (2-3 in 3A North — 3A first round)
2014 — 1-8 (1-4 in 3A North — Missed playoffs)
2013 — 4-7 (2-3 in 3A North — 3A quarterfinals)
2012 — 7-4 (4-3 in 2A North — 2A quarterfinals)
2011 — 6-5 (3-4 in 2A North — 2A quarterfinals)
Emery coaching history
2016 — Jon Faimalo (0-0)
2006-2015 — Jim Jones (second stint, 48-59)
2003-2005 — Kevin Reynolds (5-26)
1987-2002 — Jim Jones (106-63)
1985-1986 — Greg Cook (10-10)
1983-1984 — Dean Nelson (3-15)
1978-1982 — Layne Moody (13-34)
1976-1977 — Unknown (4-16)
1974-1975 — Paul Clark (6-12)
1972-1973 — Bob Steele (1-16)
1971 — Unknown (6-3)
1970 — Stilson (8-3)
1967-1969 — Unknown (15-13)
1965-1966 — Ray Butcher (8-8)
1963-1964 — Douglas Hunt (8-9)
Deseret News First Team all-staters the past 10 years
2015 — Austin Allred, DB
2013 — Zach West, OL
2012 — David Dyer, RB/LB
2011 — Cory Cox, RB/LB
2007 — Wade Bohn, OL
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.