Note: West finished with a 2-9 overall record in 2018 and was tied for fourth in Region 6 with a 1-4 record. It lost to Murray 24-21 in the Region 6 play-in game.
West’s 2018 Offensive and Defensive Stats
SALT LAKE CITY — The West Panthers and East Leopards may not be as big of rivals as they once were, but it still became quite the to-do in the spring when Leopards offensive coordinator and girls basketball coach Olosaa “Junior” Solovi became head football coach of the Panthers.
Even more than becoming a head football coach for the first time, Solovi jumped at the West job because it gave him the chance to return to his alma mater and help the kids in the neighborhood in which he still lives.
“It’s just home,” he said earlier this month. “Just home, and it was an opportunity to grow and come back and just help the community. I live here still and it was just an opportunity to come home and try to grow and just help out the community that I live in. ... I didn’t want to just be a head coach and take the first job. It’s being home.”
Solovi will be inheriting a program that has won five games the last two seasons combined following two consecutive winless seasons. That said, Solovi coached the Leopard girls basketball teams to consecutive state championships in 2017 and 2018, and he was on the coaching staff as the football team won titles in 2016.
As such, he’s not so naive to think West doesn’t need to be built up, but he also wants to instill a winning mentality in his players.
“If you have the mindset that this is just a rebuild, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” he said. “You’ve got to go work for it. Everybody’s working hard. Everybody has the same goals you have. If you can put it together, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Knowing the challenges many of his players face away from the field and from school, Solovi also wants to balance the hope of bringing excitement to the West community through winning while also ensuring that he and his staff (all West graduates) are going to love the kids and provide them with a positive experience.
“I live here,” he said. “I think that really helps, being in the community, being from here, seeing the struggles that happen in this community, and then also seeing how we handled it at East. Was it always the perfect way? No, but I knew that the only way is to love these kids.”
West Panthers at a glance
Coach: Olosaa “Junior” Solovi is entering his first year as head coach of the Panthers and his first year as a head football coach overall. He is a graduate of West.
Solovi’s comments on new UHSAA RPI:
“I like the RPI system. I think it’ll take them a couple of years of what numbers are going to be good. I’m not necessarily a big fan of everybody going to the playoffs, but I think you’ve got to do it at least for these first couple of years to figure out, if there’s going to be a way to eliminate teams, how do you do that?”
West offensive snapshot
Offensive coordinator: Junior Solovi
2018 offensive production: 20.3 ppg (16th in 5A)
—Five returning starters
—Triple-option offense
Returning offensive starters
Mohammed Traore RB/WR
Clarence “Bird” Butler RB
Jesse Ah See OL
Offensive newcomers to watch
Abraham Williams QB
Isi Kava TE
Pule Alo OL
Juni Fifita OL
Nifai Langi OL
Solovi’s comments on using the triple-option:
“It’s a new system for these guys to go from a spread to smash-mouth, getting up your grill. It’s a real culture shock for them, but we believe in it. It’s worked. It worked while I was at East and before I was at East, so we’re excited. We’re excited about these guys.”
Solovi’s comments on Abraham Williams:
“He has very limited varsity experience, but we’re going to hang our hat on him. He’s going to be a guy a lot of people are going to really notice if he can stay healthy. He’s super athletic, real fast.”
Solovi’s comments on his offensive line:
“We just feel like we should be able to hang our hat on our offense and try to keep teams off the field just by grinding things out. We feel good about it. We’ve got a long way to go, but we feel good about where we’re at right now.”
Solovi’s comments on his wide receivers:
“We’ve got guys that are just being unselfish right now. They’re coming from a spread. Those guys were really active in the offense. For these guys to come in and not swallow their pride, but do things for the team and understand we’re going to compete if we do this, I really tip my hat to those guys. That’s not an easy transition for those guys.”
Keys for offensive success in 2019:
Most coaches will say the key to offensive success is good offensive line play, but that’s especially true when running the triple-option. Can the Panthers be good enough in that department to keep the offense on the field and the clock rolling? Can Abraham Williams become adept at making the right decisions as plays unfold?
West defensive snapshot
Defensive coordinator: Bryant Masina
2018 defensive production: 35.2 ppg (21st in 5A)
—Five returning starters
—4-3 defense
Defensive returning starters
Omarion Fa’amoe DL
Juni Fifita DL
Felix Ortiz DB
Defensive newcomers to watch
Floyd Nau LB
Enoch Vaenuku LB
Clarence “Bird” Butler DB
Mohammed Traore DB
Solovi’s comments on defensive lineman Omarion Fa’amoe
“Explosive guy ... you would never think just by seeing him. Unassuming, quiet. He gets in between the tackles, killer.”
Solovi’s comments on new linebackers Floyd Nau and Enoch Vaenuku:
“These guys live in our neighborhood. These guys wanted to come back and we’re excited. They just bought into what we’re doing. Nothing fancy about these guys. They just put their hard hat on. They come down and they’re physical guys. We’re asking a lot of them. We’re excited about those guys.”
Solovi’s comments on defensive back Treyson Johnson:
“He’s going to lead that group back there. Great leader. The guy can hit.”
Keys for defensive success in 2019:
Solovi is excited about the things defensive coordinator Bryant Masina is bringing to the team, but the head coach emphasized that unless the group can have cohesion, those things will only do so much good. If the group does come together, however, Solovi feels it has the potential to be special. Each position group has one or two very good players. Can Solovi and Masina find good depth?
Bottom line
Solovi has brought a fresh energy to a West program that needs it, and as an alum who still lives in the area, being the Panthers’ head coach means a lot to him for a bunch of different reasons. That should go a long way in helping him build a strong foundation. That being said, West has a long way to go to be relevant, and will have a lot of young players this season. It would be progress to improve the win total from the last few years, but it remains to be seen if West can make any real noise right away under Solovi.
Coaches preseason Region 2 straw poll: Fifth
Deseret News Region 2 prediction: Third
2019 Schedule
Aug. 16 — CLEARFIELD, 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 — COTTONWOOD, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 — at Park City, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 — at Cyprus, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 — WEST JORDAN, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 — at Hunter, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 — TAYLORSVILLE, 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 — at Kearns, 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 — GRANGER, 7 p.m.
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Felt’s Facts for West High School
All-time record: 567-444-34 (125 years)
Region championships: 24 (1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1925 co, 1927, 1928, 1933, 1936 co, 1941, 1946, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1978 co, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2014 co)
Playoff appearances: 40
Current playoff appearance streak: 0
All-time playoff record: 42-33-1
State championships: 7 (1925, 1927, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1992) -- also won 14 additional championships between 1898 and 1915 when season record vs. other high schools determined titles.
State championship record: 6-4
Most played rivalry: 111 meetings with East dating back to 1914. East leads 60-44-7.
Felt’s Factoids: West has the second-most wins (562) and most games played (1,024) in state history. … West holds the single-game blocked punt record: five against Bonneville in a 1973 Class 4A quarterfinal. … West and Box Elder combined for zero penalty yards in the 1946 Class A championship, the fewest penalty yards in a state final.
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Last 5
- 2018 — 2-9 (1-4 in Region 6 – Missed playoffs)
- 2017 — 3-7 (0-5 in Region 6 - Missed playoffs)
- 2016 — 0-9 (0-6 in Region 2 – 5A Quarterfinals)
- 2015 — 0-9 (0-6 in Region 2 – Missed playoffs)
- 2014 — 5-5 (4-1 in Region 2 – 5A First round)
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West coaching history
- 2019 — Olosaa Solovi (0-0)
- 2016-2018 — Justin Thompson (5-25)
- 2012-2015 — Keith Lopati (11-28)
- 2009-2011 — Justin Spencer (18-16)
- 2005-2008 — Randy Schreiter (15-28)
- 2002-2004 — Don Holtry (4-25)
- 1998-2001 — Sam Aloia (13-26)
- 1985-1997 — Don Holtry (90-46)
- 1967-1984 — Gean Plaga (147-47-3)
- 1959-1966 — Don Jesperson (28-40-1)
- 1956-1958 — Glen Tuckett (14-11)
- 1946-1955 — Jimmy Vranes (44-36-8)
- 1943-1945 — Paul Packard (0-20)
- 1942 — Parley "Paddy" Davis (1-3-2)
- 1938-1941 — Pat Ryan (10-12-3)
- 1920-1937 — Roy E. McIntyre (63-40-7)
- 1919 — Homer P. Christensen (5-2-1)
- 1911-1918 — Henry G. "Heinie" Richardson (31-15)
- 1910 — Joe Busse (4-2)
- 1903-1909 — David H. Callahan (28-12-3)
- 1902 — Mr. Boyle (6-1-2)
- 1898-1901 — David H. Callahan (15-2-1)
- 1893-1897 — team captain (15-7-1)
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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.