Note: Skyline finished with a 3-8 overall record in 2018 and was tied for fourth in Region 6 with a 1-4 record. It lost to Murray 17-14 in the Region 6 play-in game.
Skyline 2018 offensive and defensive stats
EAST MILLCREEK — After being an assistant coach at Skyline High School since 2010, Mike Carlson — who played on Skyline’s 2005 championship team — is getting his shot at head coach.
“The biggest changes you see as a head coach a lot of the times are administrative, so you have to handle paperwork and you’ve got to do a lot of stuff that I didn’t do as a coordinator. ... The football part of it doesn’t change — it’s still football. The off-the-field stuff is where you see the biggest change,” Carlson said.
Carlson will look to transform Skyline back to its glory days, when the Eagles won five straight state championships. Recently, Skyline has only had one winning season in the past five years, and the Eagles haven’t advanced past the quarterfinals since 2008.
First, Carlson is focused on rebuilding the team’s culture to a winning one.
“We have a bunch of team goals. Right now, we’re making sure that our goals are effort-based, that the kids are giving 100% effort in practice, 100% effort on the field, and that will translate into us having success. We’re obviously looking to win football games this year and we’re looking to compete in every game that we’re in and to have a very successful year as we progress through it,” Carlson said.
Team at a glance
Coach: Mike Carlson is entering his first year as head coach at Skyline. He has been an assistant at the school since 2010.
Team offensive snapshot
Offensive coordinator: Mike Carlson
2018 offensive production: 17.6 ppg (20th in 5A)
— 7 returning starters
— Multiple offenses
Key offensive returning starters
— Mason Lund (RB)
Rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns last season.
— Hudson Manwaring (WR)
Caught 11 passes for 256 yards in 2018.
Returning offensive starters
Jeremiah Johnsen (TE/WR)
Mason Lund (RB)
Luke Bennett (OL)
Luke Tueller (OL)
Jacob Walker (OL)
Tyler Limpert (WR)
Hudson Manwaring (WR)
Offensive newcomers to watch
Braxton Bolingbroke(QB)
Austin Okerwa (WR)
Roman Franco
Hudson Manwaring (WR)
Zach Kaufman (RB)
Royal Wilson (RB)
Carlson’s comments on quarterbacks:
“Right now, we’ve got four quarterbacks. We’re young at the position. Right now, our starting quarterback is a junior (Braxton Bolingbroke) and then we’ve got a sophomore behind him and then two freshmen, so we’re pretty young that the position. We’re talented there and we’re continuing to develop and we’ll continue to grow there, but we are young.
Carlson’s comments on running backs:
“We have one of our returners from last year, Mason Lund will be back. We also have moved a player from receiver, Zach Kaufman, he’ll get a bunch of reps for us as well and then we have a sophomore that’s been repping in, Royal Wilson, that will also see time on the field. We’ve got a three-man rotation going there right now.”
Carlson’s comments on wide receivers:
“It’s awesome. Our two slots are back, Jeremiah Johnsen and Ty Limpert are both back from last season. They’ve both been great leaders on the offense. They’ve done a great job of making sure that our communication is good and we’re lined up correctly, and then obviously having people with varsity experience is awesome because you know that they can execute in game situations. They’re tested; it’s nice to have people that have that game time test.”
Carlson’s comments on offensive line:
“One of the biggest things that I wanted to emphasize when I became head coach is to improve the offensive line play, that was goal No. 1. Our offensive line play needed to get better from last season and our guys have taken that to heart and made the improvements necessary in the weight room. We needed to improve on our strength a lot, we needed to make sure that we were a more cohesive unit that played for each other, had good chemistry, those things are the things that we’ve emphasized over camp and they’ve done a great job in doing that. It’s awesome to have a senior-led offensive line, especially when you do have a young quarterback. They’ve been doing an awesome job in camp, they’ve done very well in their preparation during the offseason and it’s shown.”
Keys for offensive success in 2019:
Carlson says his key to offensive success is to run the ball, run the ball again and then maybe throw the ball a little bit. Establishing the run is key.
Team defensive snapshot
Defensive coordinator: Trevor Woodall
2018 defensive production: 30.8 ppg (19th in 5A)
— 5 returning starters
— Multiple defenses
Key defensive returning starters
— Jeremiah Johnsen (LB)
Had 42 tackles, three sacks and an interception last year.
— Jacob Walker (DL)
Had 41 tackles and a sack in 2018.
Returning defensive starters
Jeremiah Johnsen (LB)
Zach Kaufman (S)
Jacob Walker (DL)
Luke Tueller (DL)
Luke Bennett (DL)
Defensive newcomers to watch
Hudson Manwaring (CB)
Isaac Visser (CB)
Connor Wright (CB)
Carlson’s comments on defensive line:
“First off, I expect them to stop the run and to make sure that we can stop the run without having to bring pressure, that’s kind of our goal — to make sure that they are in their gap responsibilities and that they’re playing with a lot of energy and a lot of effort. Having the returning starters back has been great because they know our defense, they know what we do, and they’re able to help lead those young guys that will have to play this year as well. They’ve done a good job again. We’ve had good leadership on offense and defense up front, on the lines, and we’ve seen that really translate into more effective team sessions and hopefully it translates to more effective defense on Friday as well.”
Carlson’s comments on Jeremiah Johnsen:
“He’s going to be a big-time contributor. He is going to be our starting Sam linebacker. He is a guy who brings energy to the team, he knows his job and he does his job well. We should see great things out of him this year.”
Carlson’s comments on defensive newcomers:
“The newcomers that we have are in the secondary, most of them. The front six are basically the same as they were last year, but the newcomers we have in the secondary. We’ve improved our speed over last year’s team, we have really athletic corners, we’ve got very good leaders at safety and they’re also really good at their positions. Although we’re young there, our athleticism went up and our attention to detail has been better in that position than it was a year ago. We’re looking for good things from them.”
Keys for defensive success in 2019:
Carlson’s keys to defensive success are to stop the run, play disciplined defense and be able to pursue the football.
Coaches preseason Region 6 straw poll: Fifth
Deseret News Region 6 prediction: Fifth
Key region game: vs. Olympus, Oct. 16 (Week 10)
Bottom line
Skyline has a decent number of returning starters coming back on offense and defense. Finding a quarterback and a star running back will be key for the Eagles, as will finding starters in their secondary.
2019 schedule
Aug. 16 — at Layton, 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 — SPRINGVILLE, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 — JUAN DIEGO, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 — at Cottonwood, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 — HILLCREST, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 — MURRAY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 — at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 — at Highland, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 — TIMPANOGOS, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 — OLYMPUS, 7 p.m.
….
Felt’s Facts for Skyline High School
All-time record: 450-199-1 (57 years)
Region championships: 21 (1965, 1966, 1967, 1969 co, 1972, 1976, 1978 co, 1979, 1987 co, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 co, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2012-co)
Playoff appearances: 46
Current playoff appearance streak: 4 (2014-2017)
All-time playoff record: 88-32
State championships: 14 (1967, 1969, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005)
State championship record: 14-6
Most played rivalry: 53 meetings with Olympus dating back to 1962. Skyline leads 28-24-1.
Felt’s Factoids: Skyline holds several playoff records, including most championship game victories (14), most consecutive championships (five), most consecutive playoff wins and most total playoff wins (88). ... The Eagles have never lost a home playoff game (38-0). ... Skyline holds the record for consecutive winning seasons with 23 from 1989 to 2011. ... Skyline also holds the record for most consecutive scoring games (262) from 1986-2007.
...
Last five
- 2018 — 3-8 (1-4 in Region 6 — missed playoffs)
- 2017 — 6-4 (3-2 in Region 6 — 5A first round)
- 2016 — 4-6 (2-3 in Region 6 — 4A first round)
- 2015 — 5-7 (1-4 in Region 6 — 4A first round)
- 2014 — 7-5 (4-2 in Region 7 — 4A quarterfinals)
….
Skyline coaching history
- 2019 — Mike Carlson (0-0)
- 2016-2018 — Zac Erekson (13-18)
- 2014-2015 — Justin Thompson (12-12)
- 2012-2013 — Steve Marlowe (9-11)
- 1986-2011 — Roger DuPaix (246-74)
- 1982-1985 — Ray Groth (17-23)
- 1980-1981 — Gil Cordova (7-13)
- 1968-1979 — Ken Schmidt (108-26)
- 1964-1967 — H.G. Linford (31-10)
- 1962-1963 — Wayne Startin (7-12)
.....
Deseret News Mr. Football recipients
- 2000 — Steve Tate, QB
- 1999 — Bo Nagahi, DB
Deseret News First Team all-staters the past 10 years
- 2018 — Chris Dudley, P
- 2017 — Taylor Larsen, WR
- 2012 — Garrett England, Specialist
- 2011 — Zach Russon, OL
- 2010 — Nick Johnson, OL
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.