Note: Taylorsville finished with a 1-9 overall record in 2018 and was fifth in Region 3 with a 1-4 record. It did not qualify for the 6A playoffs.
Taylorsville 2018 offensive and defensive stats
TAYLORSVILLE — Taylorsville has a new coach, Joe Johnson. Johnson will take over the program for 2019 and beyond and try to build up a program that has traditionally struggled.
Johnson played running back at the University of Utah for the 2004 BCS Busters that went 12-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl, becoming the first team from a non-BCS conference to play in a BCS bowl.
“My time at Utah was great. I had some amazing teammates, got to play for the Fiesta Bowl championship team, and really enjoyed myself. I had great teammates and proud of my team, proud to say that we will end up being inducted to the (Crimson Club) Hall of Fame this year, nothing but fun,” Johnson said.
Johnson played under Urban Meyer at Utah.
“It was a great thing. Urban is a really cut and dry guy. Do what he asks you to do, and you’re not going to have any problems. Don’t do what he asks you to do and you’re going to have issues. I loved playing for Coach Meyer,” Johnson said.
One lesson Johnson gleaned from Meyer was accountability.
“Accountability. Making sure your team and kids have accountability to each other, make sure that everybody’s completing their job and getting things done for each other. Without that, it’s really hard to have a team. Right now, the kids are learning that, day by day, practice by practice,” Johnson said.
Johnson hopes to instill accountability in Taylorsville and help turn the program around.
“These are good kids. They’re a little hardheaded sometimes, but that’s all high school kids. They do what they’re asked, for the most part, and they’re getting better every practice, every day,” Johnson said.
Team at a glance
Coach: Joe Johnson is entering his first year as head coach of Taylorsville. He is a graduate of the University of Utah.
Team offensive snapshot
Offensive coordinator: Chris Hooper
2018 offensive production: 19.9 ppg (16th in 6A)
— 6 returning starters
— Multi offense
Key offensive returning starters
Offensive linemen earned a 6A all-state honorable mention spot last season.
Scored a touchdown and ran for 87 yards last season, along with catching a pass.
Returning offensive starters
Tela Mulitalo
Steele Hess
Tau Leremia
Offensive newcomer to watch
Coach Johnson’s comments on quarterbacks:
“It’s looking good. We missed out on Dane (Leituala). We’ve had Dane the last two or three years and I didn’t get to coach him, but everyone says he’s a really great player. Right now, we have Juni (Hamani) Wolfgramm. Really good kid, but he is an underclassman. He’s a big kid already and he’s very confident in himself. He’s earned the confidence of his teammates, so he should be able to do a great job for our team. If he grasps the offense and produces, he’s going to lead Taylorsville a long way.”
Coach Johnson’s comments on running backs:
“We have many running backs. Kalauti Heimuli. He’s a great running back and he can play linebacker too, both sides of the ball. He does a great job for us. Braxton Bates, he is a hog. If somebody gets in front of him, he’s getting ran over more times than not. He’s a dynamic running back, not as fast as the others, but very dynamic. Melrone Atkinson, he does an amazing job, scatback, makes people miss. Grateful to have him, he came all the way from Georgia as a transfer, so we’ve got some talent at that position that can do some things this year.”
Coach Johnson’s comments on offensive line:
“Offensive line looks good. We’ve just got to make sure we gel and make sure that we read our keys and our blitzes and make sure we execute. As long as they execute, we’ll be fine.”
Keys for offensive success in 2019:
Johnson’s key to offensive success is execution.
Team defensive snapshot
2018 defensive production: 42.8 ppg (22nd in 4A)
— 3 returning starters
— 4-3 defense
Returning defensive starters
Amari Calloway
Kolbe Hays
Steele Hess
Coach Johnson’s comments on defensive line:
“They’ll do pretty good. Right now, we’ve got some youth on the D-line and some rotation things going on there. As long as they adhere to coaching, they’ll be fine.”
Coach Johnson’s comments on defensive backfield:
“Defensive backfield is strong. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to rival the top teams with interceptions or PBUs. They are very aggressive and they are very fast. The good thing is, most of our back-end guys come back after this season, so we should be pretty solid there.
Coach Johnson’s comments on what defensive newcomers have to do to get acclimated:
“Get in the playbook. That’s it. Get in the playbook, learn and study. That’s all you can do. Take the lessons and apply them in the game. Other than that, there’s no magic potion, there’s no secret. Just hard work, dedication and getting in your playbook.”
Keys for defensive success in 2019:
Johnson’s key to defensive success is applying pressure.
Coaches preseason Region 2 straw poll: 7th
Deseret News Region 2 prediction: 7th
Key region game: vs. Kearns, Sept. 6 (Week 4)
Bottom line
Taylorsville won just one game last year and hasn’t had a winning season. No Taylorsville coach has finished with an overall winning coaching record at the school since Brad Molen finished 32-31 from 1998-2003. Johnson will have his work cut out for him while trying to build a culture in the program with few returning starters, but has the advantage of youth on his side over the next few years.
2019 schedule
Aug. 16 — COPPER HILLS, 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 — at Bingham, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 — at Mountain View, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 — KEARNS, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 — at Cyprus, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 — GRANGER, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 — at West, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 — HUNTER, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 — LEHI, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 — at West Jordan, 7 p.m.
….
Felt’s Facts for Taylorsville High School
All-time record: 122-251 (38 years)
Region championships: 2 (1999 co, 2013 co)
Playoff appearances: 14
Current playoff appearance streak: 0
All-time playoff record: 4-13
State championships: 0
State championship record: 0-1
Most played rivalry: 30 meetings with Kearns dating back to 1981. Taylorsville leads 17-13.
Felt’s Factoids: Warrior Isaiah Tafua (1998) is one of just eight players to return a fumble 99 yards. … Ryan Filipe holds the record for longest kickoff return — 99 yards — in a championship game (1999).
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Last 5
- 2018 — 1-9 (1-4 in Region 3 – Missed playoffs)
- 2017 — 4-6 (1-4 in Region 3 – Missed playoffs)
- 2016 — 5-7 (3-3 in Region 3 – 5A Quarterfinals)
- 2015 — 3-7 (2-4 in Region 3 – Missed playoffs)
- 2014 — 7-4 (3-2 in Region 2 – 5A First round)
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Taylorsville coaching history
- 2019 — Joe Johnson (0-0)
- 2016-2018 — Pala Vaitu’u (10-22) — co-head coach in 2016
- 2012-2016 — Rod Wells (22-31) — co-head coach in 2016
- 2009-2011 — Jonny Matich (2-28)
- 2004-2008 — Scott Henderson (6-43)
- 1998-2003 — Brad Molen (32-31)
- 1996-1997 — Mark Clinton (12-8)
- 1988-1995 — Randy Tuft (17-55)
- 1981-1987 — Doug Bills (26-40)
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Deseret News First Team All-Staters the past 10 years
- 2017 — Dane Leituala, ATH
- 2013 — Mori Savini, DL
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.