Note: Viewmont finished with a 5-6 overall record in 2015 and tied for third in Region 2 with a 3-3 record. It lost to Mountain Crest 35-12 in the 5A first round.
Viewmont’s 2015 offensive and defensive stats
BOUNTIFUL — It is generally accepted that the two worst positions for a sports program to be is either at the bottom of the standings, with little to no hope for the immediate future, or mired in mediocrity, incapable of making the leap to contention. Contrastly two of the most desirable positions to occupy are that of champion, or up-and-coming contender. After two years of rebuilding under coach Scott Ditty, the Viewmont Vikings are squarely in the up-and-coming contender category.
In each of the previous two seasons under Ditty, the Vikings have improved their win total by two wins, from 3-7 his first year (an improvement from the 1-9 record the Vikings posted in 2013) to 5-6 this past season (which included the team's first playoff berth since 2012).
Entering the 2016 season, Ditty is optimistic for continued improvement. “We have more size this year then we have had,” said Ditty. “This is my third year here, and we are bigger than we have been in the past. We have size up front on both sides of the ball. We aren’t enormous, certainly not like Hunter or Bingham, but we are big for Viewmont.”
Ditty also noted that in addition to their newfound size the Vikings have great team speed. “The strength of our team heading into this season is our speed,” said Ditty. “We have a lot of quick and powerful athletes who wrestle, and we have a lot of good track athletes as well.”
One of the “quick and powerful” athletes the Vikings will rely heavily on this season is running back Cort George. A rising senior, George was the team's leading rusher last season with 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns. He also chipped in 215 yards and two touchdowns receiving for the Vikings.
“Cort George is a really good zone running back,” said Ditty. “He does a great job with that scheme, so we are sticking with it and the spread offense.”
Viewmont also returns three starters on the offensive line in Josh Childs, Brennan Bishop and Kevin Calobeer. In addition to those three seniors, the Vikings have two junior linemen who saw significant playing time as sophomores in Taylor Money and Josh Huff. “Our two tackles, the twin Josh’s (Childs and Huff), are big strong kids,” said Ditty.
The quarterback position is still up in the air for the Vikings as they look to two kids to replace Cole Huish. “Our quarterback battle is between Davis Hadlock, a senior, and Davis Weir, who was a starter on our region champion sophomore team,” said Ditty. “It’s kind of a win-win for us. Hadlock is a big kid (6-foot-5, 220 pounds). I completely trust him if we decide to give him the reins, but if we decide to give Weir the job, then we feel like Hadlock is a Division 1 caliber tight end.”
As far as the Viewmont receiving corps goes, the Vikings return tight end Chandler Stafford (353 yards and three touchdowns) as well as wide receiver Markus Rawlings (102 yards and two touchdowns). “Rawlings busted his collarbone during baseball season and then rebroke it in camp in July, but he got a plate on it and we expect him back midseason,” said Ditty. “He is a speedster, a really good athlete.”
Defensively, the Vikings runs a base 3-4 defense but will play multiple schemes. “Last year we played more 4-3 than anything else,” said Ditty. “It worked out for us because we played against a lot of run-heavy teams. This year we are really a multiple defense. We are prepared to play whatever scheme we need to.”
The Vikings will look to senior defensive backs Ethan Larsen (44 tackles and one interception) and Luke Preston (34 tackles and two interceptions) to lead the secondary. Jacob Barnum (an all-state returner in 2015) and Stafford are expected to lead the Viewmont linebacking corps. “Barnum is a dynamic linebacker,” said Ditty. “We also have some really talented underclassmen who will get some opportunities to play this season.”
The Vikings are skilled at almost every position heading into the season, but also have a tremendous amount of youth and will be expected to make significant contributions.
“I didn’t expect us to be this young,” said Ditty. “We had some real attrition this offseason. I lost three returning starters and three expected starters. Two kids moved away, two kids got in trouble and got kicked out of school, and two kids dropped football due to chronic concussions. That all happened inside of a month and it was pretty scary. That being said our young kids are every bit as talented as the guys we lost. They just need experience.”
Viewmont Vikings at a glance
Head coach: Scott Ditty is set to enter his third season as head football coach at Viewmont High School. He has amassed an 8-13 record while with the Vikings. A California native, Ditty was a longtime assistant coach at both Alta and Timpview high schools prior to his tenure at Viewmont. He is a graduate of Weber State University.
Offense (6 returning starters; spread offense)
Offensive coordinator: Jeff Jorgensen (second year as assistant)
Returning offensive starters
Josh Childs (OL)
Brennan Bishop (OL)
Kevin Calobeer (OL)
Cort George (RB)
Chandler Stafford (TE)
Markus Rawlings (WR)
Offensive newcomers to watch
Davis Hadlock (QB/TE)
Davis Weir (QB)
Randy Vasquez (WR)
Jackson Barber (WR)
Defense (6 returning starters; 3-4 defense)
Defensive coordinator: Chris Walker (first year as assistant)
Returning defensive starters
Ethan Larsen (DB)
Luke Preston (DB)
Jacob Barnum (LB)
Chandler Stafford (LB)
Alex Holdaway (LB)
Mitch Goodwin (DE)
Defensive newcomers to watch
Jackson Coyle (LB)
Coaches' preseason Region 2 straw poll: Fourth
Deseret News Region 2 prediction: Fourth
Bottom line: The Vikings have a lot of skilled players entering this season. The difficulty for Viewmont is a lot of their talent is young and inexperienced. If the veteran players can hold down the fort at the beginning of the season, and let the young guys get their feet wet, then the Vikings have a chance for a special season. If that doesn’t happen, Viewmont may struggle. If the past two season are any indication however, Viewmont will contend with the best that Region 2 has to offer.
2016 schedule
Aug. 19 — at Northridge, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26 — BOUNTIFUL, 7 p.m.
Sept. 2 — WOODS CROSS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 — DAVIS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 — at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23 — at West, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 — at Lehi, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 — HUNTER, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 — LAYTON, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 — at Granger, 7 p.m.
Felt’s Facts for Viewmont High School
All-time record: 216-308-2 (52 years)
Region championships: 4 (1972, 1973, 1974 co, 2011)
Playoff appearances: 24
Current playoff appearance streak: 1 (2015)
All-time playoff record: 15-23
State championships: 1 (1971)
State championship record: 1-1
Most played rivalry: 50 meetings with Bountiful dating back to 1964. Bountiful leads 29-21.
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
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)
2011 — 8-4 (4-1 in Region 2 — 5A quarterfinals)
Viewmont coaching history
2014-current — Scott Ditty (8-13)
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
(None)
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.
Email: twood@bonneville.com