High school boys soccer: Weber, Brighton, Desert Hills, Judge Memorial and Layton Christian tabbed as preseason title favorites

SALT LAKE CITY — It is that time of year again — boys soccer season — and over the past week teams across the state kicked off their 2020 campaigns.

Weber, Brighton, Desert Hills, Judge Memorial and Layton Christian Academy, four of which are defending state champs, were all tabbed as preseason No. 1’s by the state’s coaches, but already challengers have emerged.

Here’s a closer look at each classification a week into the season.

Class 6A

6A team capsules

For practically the entire 2019 season, the Weber Warriors were overlooked. They weren’t picked to win Region 1 and certainly weren’t picked to win the state championship.

“Nobody believed we could do it,” Weber head coach Jan Swift said. “We especially believed our boys could and they did.”

Things are different this year, as the Warriors entered the season as preseason 6A title favorites. A lot of that had to do with some standout returners, including 6A MVP Charlie Wheelwright and all-staters Josh Maughan and Luke Johnson, not to mention the whole defending state champs thing.

So far, 2020 has been great for the Warriors, who are off to a 2-0 start with wins over Mountain Crest and Ben Lomond.

Top returning 6A all-staters

• Charles Wheelwright, Weber
• Eli Nixon, Layton
• Noah Larkin, Davis
• Kolton Johnson, Herriman
• CJ Wiggins, Pleasant Grove

There are already challengers to the throne, though, namely the Davis Darts (2-0), Westlake Thunder (2-0) and Herriman Mustangs (2-0).

All three teams returned all-staters of their own. Davis brought back goalkeeper Noah Larkin and forward Josh Harwood, and the Darts already have defeated Viewmont and Logan.

Herriman, meanwhile, brought back key contributors in Kolton Johnson, Cade Byrge, Alex Geertsen, Ryan Speckman and Tyler Beverley and their presence has been felt in wins over Juan Diego and West Jordan.

Westlake might be the most intriguing contender of the three, though. The Thunder are a senior-heavy group, led by Alex Fritcher, Gavin Coe, Zac Lifferth, Camden Beck and Fabrice Aitken, and appear primed for a breakthrough.

“We have a very experienced team consisting of seniors and juniors,” Westlake head coach Don Bastian said. “Our squad is built around a core of players who have played together since they were 8 years old. The Westlake soccer program has been growing stronger each year. We think this is our strongest year yet.”

Other teams to keep an eye on as the season progresses include the Lone Peak Knights, Granger Lancers, Copper Hills Grizzlies and Skyridge Falcons.

The Falcons have made the jump from 5A to 6A this season, but expect to make a deep playoff run, nonetheless.

“We look to reload/rebuild this soccer season with very young leadership and talent,” Skyridge head coach Jerry Preisendorf said. “We have our top assist makers and goal scorers from last year, and starting goalkeeper. ... The boys have bought into our system during the very short practices this spring and we look forward to the challenge of repeating a deep run in the playoffs.”

Class 5A

5A team capsules

The Brighton Bengals were the best team in 5A a season ago and the expectation is that that will be the case again this season. The Bengals are the title favorites early in the year, despite a 0-1 start with a loss to Corner Canyon last week.

Much of that has to do with the experienced returners Brighton brought back into the fold, among them all-staters Chandler Turpin, Jackson McKeon, London Botelho, Cameron Neeley and Walker Schwendiman.

Top returning 5A all-staters

• Greyson Mercer, Wasatch
• Chandler Turpin, Brighton
• Henry Morris, Viewmont
• Jake Lewis, Olympus
• Brian Bess, Maple Mountain

“We have a great group of players returning this year who are hungry to work hard and have another great season,” Brighton head coach Brett Rosen said. “Our success this year will depend on our younger players stepping in to fill the holes created by the players we lost to graduation. We are excited for the challenge and look forward to the challenge ahead.”

The team the Bengals defeated in last year’s state title game — the Olympus Titans — hope to be Brighton’s biggest challenge this year. The Titans returned a few important pieces from their 2019 team, including Lincoln Buchanan, Jake Lewis, Alec Foulger and Bryin Huremovic, but have a great deal of unknown’s with a new coach and some significant losses.

“The Titans lost 12 seniors after a successful 2019 campaign,” head coach Andy Naylor said. “This year, younger talent is looking to step up the level of play after the loss of invaluable experience. With coaching and roster changes, Olympus is keen on maintaining the quality they’ve had in the past.”

Speaking of past success, both Alta and Wasatch hope to return to the top of the classification. The Hawk, with returners Ethan Hancock and Coy Sollis, are expected to be at the top. of Region 7, while the Wasps, powered by the likes of Greyson Mercer, Edgar Garcia, Ryan Hanley, Elder Ruiz and Jack Jarrett, headliner a deep Region 8.

Other team’s to watch out for include the Farmington Phoenix, who, per head coach Aaron Soelberg hope to “make some noise,” the Box Elder Bees and the Mountain View Bruins.

“5A is going to be competitive once again,” Wasatch head coach Jared Hendry said. “There are some great teams in all of the regions. I don’t know if there is a favorite this year and there could be a team rise up and take the title. It will be a great year for boys soccer.”

Class 4A

4A team capsules

The Sky View Bobcats are the defending 4A state champions and yet it is the Desert Hills Thunder who are the early season title favorites.

That shouldn’t be all that surprising, though. The Thunder were the 2019 runners-up, not to mention 2018 state champs, and with key returners in Ben Simister, Sawyer Heaton, Garrett Lewis and Preston Hodges the season stacks up well for Desert Hills to return to the top of the classification.

Top returning 4A all-staters

• Ben Simister, Desert Hills
• Hunter Smith, Sky View
• Tosh Martin, Park City
• Easton Ellett, Dixie
• Dallan Petersen, Stansbury

“We have had a lot of success the past two years,” Desert Hills head coach Benji Nelson said. “Our team is hungry and prepared to do what ever it takes. We have nine returning starters. We are also very deep with our junior class who have seen significant time and have playoff experience. We have a very talented group of athletic and skilled players that will be ready to compete with any team in 4A.”

The Thunder will be tested, however, even just in their own region. Crimson Cliffs (4-1) and Dixie (3-0) are off to hot starts, and the Flyers in particular return a wealth of talent — Xavi Flores, Danny Morales, Kian Rocha, Andy Rich, Zane Sadlier — from a team that fell to the defending champs in last year’s tournament.

Speaking of the defending champs, Sky View wasn’t even picked to win its own region, with the Green Canyon Wolves earning that honor. The Wolves are off to an incredibly strong start themselves, with wins over Tooele, Pine View and Hurricane.

Stansbury, Snow Canyon and Logan are all currently ranked in the top 5, per the Deseret News, and are teams to keep an eye on.

The Grizzlies are young, with key returners in Fernando Chavez, Johan Velazquez and Nate Perez, but talented.

“We’re excited for this upcoming season,” Logan head coach Natalie Norris said. “Despite losing a lot of seniors, we have a talented team coming back and I’m excited to see how we come together. We have some great leaders and some good incoming talent and I think we’ll be able to be a strong contender this year.”

Class 3A

3A team capsules

As the back-to-back two-time defending state champions, it only made sense for the Judge Memorial Bulldogs to be the 3A title favorite entering the 2020 season. The Bulldogs had been dominant over the past two years, particularly in the postseason. Throw in the return of stalwarts like Jack Terrill, the two-time 3A MVP, Gedeon Baende, Elliot Gleich and Juan Batalla, and everything pointed to another great season for Judge Memorial

It is early still, and that third great year may still be in the offing, but those predictions haven’t been the most accurate thus far. The Bulldogs are 1-1 to start the season, with a 5-1 loss to Layton Christian Academy.

Top returning 3A all-staters

• Jack Terrill, Judge Memorial
• Thomas Kirkham, South Summit
• Marcus Haston, American Leadership
• Trace Boggess, Manti
• Jaxson Clubb, Maeser Prep

The slow start might be forgotten come the postseason, a similar thing happened to Judge Memorial last season, but at the moment the champs look vulnerable and there are team’s prepared to take advantage.

Chief among them are the Morgan Trojans. The Trojans lost to the Bulldogs in the 2018 state title game, but appear primed to return to the final after falling short in the first round last season.

Morgan is determined and experienced, with key returners in Jacob Firby, Bryant Johnson, Spencer Hancock, Ammon Patterson, and Chase Lane.

Another possible title contender is the South Summit Wildcats. The Wildcats made it to last year’s semifinal round, and with the return of Thomas Kirkham, Kyler Kimball, Dylan Staples, Ethan Simmons and Joe Atkinson, have the talent necessary to make some noise.

“We are very excited to begin another soccer season,”South Summit head coach Chris Burton said. “We return a lot of starters from last season and look forward to making a run at the title again.”

Other team’s to watch out for include the American Leadership Academy Eagles, the Manti Templars, the Summit Academy Bears and the Emery Spartans.

Class 2A

2A team capsules

In recent years, the 2A classification has been the story of three teams — the Rowland Hall Winged Lions, the Waterford Ravens and the Layton Christian Academy Eagles.

The Eagles have had the most success of late, with state title wins in 2018 and 2020, while the Ravens took home the coveted trophy in 2019. The Beaver Beavers and Millard Eagles have made some noise too, but by and large the classification has come down to one of those three schools.

Top returning 2A all-staters

• Rafael Silverio, Layton Christian
• Jason Nkoy, Rowland Hall
• Sam Becker, Waterford
• Jesus Magana, Beaver
• Jose Roman, Millard

The LCA Eagles are the title favorite again this year, as befits their status as defending champs, a standing buoyed by the return 2A MVP Rafael Silverio, among others.

The Winged Lions are young, meanwhile, after back-to-back runner-up finishes, but expect to compete with Jason Nkoy, Ben Kanter, Jesus Lamas, Alex Okawa and Jude Whitten leading the way.

“After being state finalists the last two years, we have a young team that is hoping to stay healthy and continue that strong push for a state title,” Rowland Hall head coach Scott Langone said.

The Ravens, for their part, hope to get back to the semifinals, after falling short in the quarterfinals a season ago and will look to Morgan Lopez, Niklas Nilsson, Samuel Becker, Miles Elggren and Connor Smith to get them there.

“We are looking forward to a great season with many new faces and varying degrees of skill in our student-athletes,” Waterford head coach George Shirley said. “The goal is to foster a love for the beautiful game and have a ton of fun doing it this season. We plan to be competitive in every match and realize there is more and more talent around in the 2A regions each year.”

Additional title contenders include Beaver and Millard, while a dark-horse title contender are the newcomers, Real Salt Lake Academy.