The race for the 3A South region title was a stalemate last year as Juan Diego, Juab and Summit Academy rotated beating each other and all four finished with 4-1 records.
Juan Diego went on to win a pair of one-point games in the playoffs — including a thrilling win over Summit Academy in the semifinals after losing in the regular season — to claim its third straight state title.
Heading into the 2018 season, it’s going to be hard for anyone in the 3A South region to keep up with Juan Diego.
While Juab and Summit Academy have a lot of question marks after graduating a bunch of starters from last season, Juan Diego returns a great collection of starters who really came into their own late last season.
Several of those starters were back-ups to begin the season, but injuries thrust them into a larger role as the season wore on. Two of those players were running backs Hunter Easterly and Tristen Tonozzi.
Tonozzi ran for 127 yards in the championship game against Morgan last November, while Easterly had a huge semifinal game with 172 yards and three touchdowns.
“Ours is a heavy run offense so it’s reassuring to have two very good backs to lean on especially early as we try to solidify our offensive line and receiver positions,” said John Colosimo, who is the only coach in the 18-year history of Juan Diego.
Juan Diego should start the season strong with six returning starters on offense and seven on defense. The biggest question mark is at quarterback, where Connor Turner will likely get the starting the nod to replace extremely talented Zach Hoffman.
The defense has a few questions on the line, but it will likely emerge as a strength as the season wears on.
Summit Academy was the only 3A team to beat Juan Diego last season, but that win came in the regular season. Juan Diego returned the favor in the playoffs.
Summit Academy graduated all but one offensive lineman from last season and most of its offensive weapons as well. On top of that, the team returns just one defensive starter.
Despite the lack of experience, coach Les Hamilton has established a tradition of winning in his three years at the charter school that should continue despite the unproven personnel.
Juab, which beat Summit Academy in the regular season last year, will also rely on a lot of unproven talent. Dallas West and Cade Bowring are among just three returning starters on either side of the ball.
That doesn’t mean the Wasps won’t compete for the title. Coach Mike Bowring really likes the depth and competition he has offensively at quarterback, running back and on the offensive line.
There was a noticeable drop off from the top three teams to the next tier, but last year’s fourth-place team hopes a coaching change helps it crack the top three.
Jason Hitchens takes over as Richfield’s head coach with an impressive 71-33-2 career record as head coach in California. He inherits a team with some decent returning experience, but he only arrived in Utah a month before the season opener. The Wildcats will likely be a work in progress all season as he puts his stamp on the program.
Manti will try and crack the 3A South top three with a decent group on returning starters, but its challenge is depth as participation numbers are lower than they’ve ever been in coach Cole Meacham’s 19 years at the school.
“You’re really worried about injuries with small numbers, even if your ones are pretty good you generally have a pretty steep drop off,” said Meacham.
North Sanpete finished dead last in 3A South last year, but with roughly half its starters returning this year the program is optimistic about a bounce-back year.
Injuries and turnovers killed the Hawks last season, and while injuries are unpredictable, the coaching staff spent a lot of time this summer to clean up all those turnovers.
Deseret News projections for 3A South football teams in 2018
(Preseason rankings are based on coaches’ votes)
1. JUAN DIEGO: The three-time defending state champs have a great core of returning starters to make a run at another championship. Seven players are back on defense who started at some point in the season. Leading the way at defensive end is Hunter Easterly, while Sam Knudson and Tristen Tonozzi are back at linebacker. Easterly and Tonozzi are also Juan Diego’s top two running offensive weapons at running back. The offensive line has a strong foundation to build on with returning starters D.J. Larson and Monroe May. 2017 RECORD: 11-2. PLAYOFFS: Beat Morgan 45-20 in championship.
2. JUAB: A lot of starters graduated from last year, but a strong core returns for the Wasps led by Cade Bowring (WR/DB) and Dallan West (WR/DB). Returning starting QB Easton Wright is the projected starter, but he’ll get pushed by Zac Cowan in fall practice. Juab doesn’t return a single starter on the offensive line, but coach Mike Bowring believes there’s depth in the program to have options filling those spots. The defense is tweaking things slightly to try and get the 11 best players on the field. Leading that defensive group is returning D-lineman Blake Mangelson. 2017 RECORD: 7-4. PLAYOFFS: Lost to Morgan 34-18 in semifinals.
3. SUMMIT ACADEMY: Was the top scoring team in 3A last year, and it will need to lean on the offense even more this season with just one defensive starter back from last year, defensive lineman Cam Fisher. The offense has big holes to fill at quarterback and offensive line, but there are several other key contributors back. Talmage Brown returns after leading Summit Academy in rushing last season, while the team also returns two of its top three receivers, Parker Clawson and Colin Dodge. 2017 RECORD: 9-2. PLAYOFFS: Lost to Juan Diego 38-37 in semifinals.
4. MANTI: Led by QB Kyle King, Manti has six returning starters offensively. Kind missed the first four games with injury last year, and Manti was much better when he returned. His top receiver will be Adam Huff again, while Dallin Rasmussen will take on a larger role at running back this season. The defense returns six starters, but Cade Braithwaite is the lone starter back on the defensive line. That’s the biggest question mark heading into the season. 2017 RECORD: 4-7. PLAYOFFS: Lost to Summit Academy 34-21 in quarterfinals.
5. NORTH SANPETE: Was the lowest-scoring team in 3A (11.5 ppg) last season, but the Hawks have reason to be excited with over half of last year’s starters returning. Mcade Poulson, Dustin Ashworth and Alan Oldroyd are all returning starters on the offensive line. Chance Clawson takes over at QB, and has some good weapons around him in Ethan Bowles and Mason Burgess. Brock Justesen anchors a strong linebacker core, which includes Connor Jorgensen who missed all of last season with an injury. 2017 RECORD: 0-10. PLAYOFFS: Lost to Union 42-20 in first round.
6. RICHFIELD: Jason Hitchens takes over as head coach, and he inherits a squad that was pretty good defensively last year. Richfield only allowed 16.5 ppg, which ranked second in 3A. Richfield’s top three tacklers from last season are back, Wyatt Blackner and Brittyn Riddle. Offensively Emmitt Hafen is a returning starter at quarterback, and he was also Richfield’s leading receiver. Ian Bate could be a strong second option in the running game. Jordan Anderson finished second on the team in receiving last season. 2017 RECORD: 6-5. PLAYOFFS: Lost to Morgan 27-13 in quarterfinals.