Note: Viewmont finished with a 6-5 overall record in 2016 and tied for first in Region 2 with a 4-2 record. It lost to Jordan 63-20 in 5A first round.

Viewmont’s 2016 Offensive and Defensive Stats

BOUNTIFUL — For the Viewmont Vikings, the rebuild is officially over. After three seasons under head coach Scott Ditty, including back-to-back playoff berths, the Vikings feel it is high time they competed with the very best that Utah has to offer.

“Our goal every year is to go undefeated and become state champions,” said Ditty. “There is every possibility that that could happen this year. I have coached teams with less talent that have gone all the way.”

This incarnation of the Vikings may very well be the best in recent memory. Coming off a 6-5 season and a first round exit (the Vikings fell to Jordan 63-20 in their first round contest), Viewmont returns seven starters on offense, as well as five on defense, giving Ditty his most experienced team to date.

“When I first came to Viewmont I made a really hard push for ninth graders to play up, in order to accelerate their development. My first year I had 19-20 ninth-graders in the program, and the majority have stayed with us all four years. This senior class has won a region championship every year they have been at Viewmont. They won as freshmen and then again as sophomores, and last year we were co-champs. This is an experienced group that knows how to win.”

Wins were there for the taking in 2016, but all too often Viewmont came up just short. Close losses to Bountiful, Syracuse and Layton left a bitter taste in the Vikings' mouths and set the stage for the eventual first-round exit.

Heading into the 2017 campaign, Ditty and the Vikings are well aware that the next step for the program lies in postseason success.

“The last couple of years we have made the playoffs, which is very positive,” said Ditty. “We have turned this program around. Now, we have to get it up a tier. We have to become one of the elite programs in the state. In order to do that, we have advance deeper in the playoffs. The expectation here is to win, and we have the players to do it.”

Viewmont Vikings at a glance

Coach: Scott Ditty is entering his fourth year as the Viewmont head coach after compiling a 14-18 record, along with consecutive playoff berths, in his first three seasons. Ditty, a longtime assistant at Alta and Timpview High Schools, is a graduate of Placer High School in Auburn, California, as well as Weber State University.

Viewmont Offensive Snapshot

Offensive coordinator: Jeff Jorgensen (third season as assistant)

2016 offensive production: 20.1 ppg (20th in 5A)

— 7 returning starters

— Spread offense

Key offensive returning starters

— Davis Weir (QB)

As a junior, he threw for 894 yards and 12 touchdowns, both team highs, while splitting time with David Hadlock under center. He had three 200-yard outings as well as four multi-touchdown games, including a 253-yard, four touchdown effort at Northridge.

Weir’s best outing came towards the end of the year, against region foe Granger, when he completed over 60 percent of his passes, for 211 yards and two scores.

— Randy Vasquez (WR)

Vasquez had 3 receptions for 69 yards last season, good enough to secure the second-best yards-per-catch rate on the team (23 yards per catch) He also hauled in a score, making him one of just five Viking underclassmen to record a receiving touchdown.

Returning offensive starters

Davis Weir (QB)

Taylor Money (OL)

Josh Huff (OL)

Randy Vasquez (WR)

Cort Gibbs (RB)

Tyson Handley (WR)

Jackson Barber (WR)

Offensive newcomer to watch

Cameron Brown (RB)

Ditty’s comments on QB Davis Weir:

“Davis started about half of our games last year, including the first three games. Toward the end of the year he made a lot of progress, he fixed a lot of the issues he had and played fantastic for us to close out the season. He has a great arm and is our lead guy heading into the season."

Ditty’s comments on RB Cameron Brown:

“Cameron is a state level sprinter. If he doesn’t end up playing football at the next level he could be a decathlete. He is a tremendous athlete with great versatility. He has great breakaway speed. He is a north-south one-cut vertical runner. When he gets vertical he is a load."

Ditty’s comments on the team's wide receivers:

“Our receiver group may be the strongest group we have on the team. We have a lot of experience coming back, including three starters. We have four additional guys that got varsity time last year and another two or three newcomers who are really fast and talented. We are pretty deep at receiver, in both depth and talent."

Keys for Offensive Success in 2017:

The Vikings need consistent play from Weir, who showed flashes of greatness last season. With numerous targets on the outside and in the slot, Weir should have no shortage of receivers to throw the ball to. Brown and Cort Gibbs are part of a talented, but shallow, running back corps that will be needed to provide balance on offense, as well as keep pressure off Weir.

The Vikings were an average offensive team in 2016, 20th in 5A, even with the likes of superstar back Cort George in the backfield. If the offensive line comes together, behind veterans Taylor Money and Josh Huff, and Weir capably utilizes his many weapons, that will surely change in 2017.

Viewmont Defensive Snapshot

Defensive coordinator: Chaz Walker (second year as assistant)

2016 defensive production: 24.9 ppg (15th in 5A)

5 returning starters

4-3 defense

Key defensive returning starters

— Jackson Strong (DE)

A team captain, Strong had 31 tackles and two sacks last year, among the best marks of any Viking returner. Capable of playing both inside and out, Strong will be the leader of a gifted defensive line.

— Chris Stubbs (LB)

As a junior, Stubbs finished 62 tackles, the third-best mark on the team, as well as 3.5 sacks, second on the Vikings defense. His best showing came in a late season game against Granger, where he racked up 13 tackles and half a sack.

Returning defensive starters

Alex Harrison (DL)

Jackson Strong (DL)

Chris Stubbs (LB)

Aaron Bredsgaurd (LB)

Jackson Coyle (LB)

Defensive newcomer to watch

Jay Wadley (DL)

Ditty’s comments on Alex Harrison

“Alex started as a ninth grader last year. He is the only ninth grader that has ever started for me in 22 years of coaching. He is 6’4” and 290 pounds. Last year he played at 315. He is a man-child and you have to keep reminding yourself that he is only 14/15 years old. Alex just keeps getting better."

Ditty’s comments on the team's cornerbacks:

“Jackson Barber and Cole Salmon are going to be our two corners and both of them have had experience at receiver and in the secondary. They are two big bodies, both over six feet, which is the direction we have been working toward with our secondary. They are experienced, strong players but luckily for us they are being chased by some very talented young defensive backs. That competition will only make us better."

Ditty’s comments on the team's linebackers:

“We aren’t real deep, but we are pretty talented and very experienced. Jackson Coyle, Chris Stubbs and Aaron Bredsgaurd are all returning starters, and we have a couple of sophomores fighting for playing time behind them. We aren’t very big, but we are fast which is exactly what we want. We want a lot of speed and aggression at linebacker and we think we have that."

Keys for Defensive Success in 2017:

Under defensive coordinator Chaz Walker the Vikings employed an aggressive, simple defensive scheme, good enough for a top-15 mark in 5A. With five returning starters, all of whom occupy a position in the front seven, Viewmont is built to handle run-heavy power attacks.

With a less experienced secondary, it will be essential that the Viking defensive line wreak havoc in the backfield, allowing an experienced linebacking corps to go to work while protecting a talented but inexperienced secondary.

Coaches preseason Region 5 straw poll: Third

Deseret News Region 5 prediction: Second

Key Region Game: at Roy, Sept. 29 (Week 6)

Bottom line: After gradual improvement each and every year under coach Ditty, expectations are high at Viewmont. With returning starters on both sides of the ball, the Vikings have the talent and depth to compete for another region title.

Region 5 presents a different challenge than the Vikings are used to, with elite teams such as Roy and Box Elder joining the fray, but a stout defense should keep Viewmont in almost every contest.

Similarly to 2016, close games will likely be a regular part of the Vikings life this season. How Viewmont executes in said contests, particularly on offense, will decide how far the Vikings advance this season.

2017 Schedule

Aug. 18 — NORTHRIDGE, 7 p.m.

Aug. 25 — at Davis, 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 — at Green Canyon, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 — SKYRIDGE, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 — at Weber, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 — BOX ELDER, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 — at Roy, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 — WOODS CROSS, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 — at Bountiful, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 — BYE

Felt’s Facts for Viewmont High School

All-time record: 222-313-2 (53 years)

Region championships: 5 (1972, 1973, 1974 co, 2011, 2016 co)

Playoff appearances: 25

Current playoff appearance streak: 2 (2015-2016)

All-time playoff record: 15-24

State championships: 1 (1971)

State championship record: 1-1

Most played rivalry: 51 meetings with Bountiful dating back to 1964. Bountiful leads 30-21.

Felt’s Factoid(s): Viking Cole Miles returned a missed field goal 99 yards in 2003 to set a record for the longest missed field goal return.

Last 5

2016 — 6-5 (4-2 in Region 2 – 5A First round)

2015 — 5-6 (3-3 in Region 2 – 5A First round)

2014 — 3-7 (1-5 in Region 1 -- Missed playoffs)

2013 — 1-9 (0-6 in Region 1 -- Missed playoffs)

2012 — 2-9 (2-3 in Region 2 – 5A First round)

Viewmont coaching history

2014-current — Scott Ditty (14-18)

2009-2013 — Brad Lloyd (20-34)

2003-2008 — Robbie Gunter (36-29)

2000-2002 — Russ Jones (20-13)

1992 -1999 — Ross Harris (24-55)

1987-1991 — Joe Yanowsky (9-37)

1983-1986 — Warren Hatch (18-21)

1981-1982 — Mark Pierce (12-9)

1980 — Wade Bender (6-7)

1976-1979 — Monte Jones (6-29)

1974-1975 — Chuck Banker (8-11)

1969-1973 — Steve Dangerfield (38-18)

1966-1968 — Bill Ostler (8-18-2)

1964-1965 — Dick Lewis (3-14)

Deseret News First Team All-Staters the past 10 years

2016 — Preston Pitt, P

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