Heading into the third season of 8-player football in Utah, there continues to be a slow, but positive growth within the league.

Two years ago only six teams competed, with the UHSAA convincing Gunnison Valley to drop down and player 8-player football in the playoffs for a more competitive bracket. Last year St. Joseph joined the league, and this season two new schools — Utah Military Hill Field and Utah Military Camp Williams — are joining with the league expanding to nine teams for the start of the 2024 season.

“We are extremely excited to represent the first football team in the history of Utah Military Academy CW. I couldn’t be more proud of how our young men have bought into the work and grind of the summer,” said Utah Military Camp Williams coach Michael Graham.

Monticello coach Reed Anderson’s teams have finished runner-up in each of the first two seasons of 8-player football, and he’s excited to see the continued growth of the league.

“The league is growing and getting better each year and it’s wonderful to see. Lots of kids around the state are getting opportunities to play football which they haven’t had and it’s all due to those schools’ admins and coaches that are willing to brave the unknown. That attitude of pioneering has created tough and resilient teams,” said Anderson.

Rich will be the overwhelming favorite to repeat as state champs.

Coach Tyson Larsen’s team returns six starters on offense, including standout QB Carter Hoffman, and five starters on defense.

“Until someone is able to beat them Rich and Monticello are the kings of the region. Should be a fun year,” said Altamont coach Chuck Woodhouse.


1A 8-player projections

(Preseason rankings are based on coaches’ votes)

1. Rich Rebels

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Tyson Larsen

The former all-stater from Rich High School is entering his third season as head coach after leading his alma mater to a state championship in 2023. His record the past two seasons stands at 13-11.

Coach Tyson Larsen’s general outlook

Hoping to have a decent squad this year. We have a solid core group returning, the guys have worked hard in the offseason, and there’s excitement in the program.

Rich overview

2023 record: 8-4

2023 RPI ranking: No. 1 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Beat Monticello, 35-20, in the 1A 8-player 8-player championship

All-time record: 228-185 (39 years)

State titles: 7 (1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2023)

Region titles: 5 (1991 co, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014)

Offensive coordinator: Tyson Larsen

2023 offense: 24.67 ppg (No. 6 in 1A 8-player)

  • Six returning starters
  • Spread offense

Returning offensive starters

  • Carter Hoffman, Sr., QB
  • Drake Weston, Sr., RB
  • Ryker Hoffman, Sr., RB
  • Daniel Smith, Sr., WR
  • Talon Pace, Sr., OL
  • Jordan Johnson, Sr., OL

Key offensive newcomers

  • Jadex Chandler, Sr., OL

Defensive coordinator: Lex Cornia

2023 defense: 13.25 ppg (No. 1 in 1A 8-player)

  • Five returning starters
  • 2-2 defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Carter Hoffman, Sr., LB
  • Ryker Hoffman, Sr., DB
  • Drake Weston, Sr., LB
  • Sam Leifson, Sr., DB
  • Jett Holmes, Jr., DB

Key defensive newcomers

  • Daniel Smith, Sr., DB
  • Jordan Johnson, Sr., DL

2. Monticello Buckaroos

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Reed Anderson

Entering his seventh season as head coach at his alma mater, he’s tallied a 31-36 record in his first six seasons.

Coach Reed Anderson’s general outlook

We lost quite a few 2 way starters last year. Our whole line graduated or moved away. We are going to be in the learning stages for the first half of the year. I’m confident that we can get to where we need to be once the end of the season hits and by doing so we are going to have some major growing pains, especially very early on. We will need to rely heavily on the few players with major experience and have them carry us when our younger players are establishing themselves. The younger players are confident and hungry which you love to see as a coach and traits you can use. Most of these kids have had to step up earlier in wrestling, basketball, and baseball so I’m confident we can build on what they have already done.

Monticello overview

2023 record: 7-5

2023 RPI ranking: No. 2 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Rich, 35-20, in the 1A 8-player 8-player championship

All-time record: 374-311-9 (71 years)

State titles: 4 (1969, 1992, 2001, 2004)

Region titles: 18 (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 co, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 co, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013 co)

Offensive coordinator: Reed Anderson

2023 offense: 33.33 ppg (No. 2 in 1A 8-player)

  • Two returning starters
  • Spread offense

Returning offensive starters

  • Tavon Black, RB, Sr.
  • Carter Rogers, WR, Sr.

Key offensive newcomers

  • Jackson Keyes, QB, Jr.
  • Landon Shumway, RB, Jr.
  • Seth Taylor, C, Jr.
  • Jaeden Camacho, WR, Jr.
  • Peyton Hatathley, OL, Jr.
  • Camren Carpenter, OL, Sr.

Defensive coordinator: Tyrel Snyder

2023 defense: 24.75 ppg (No. 3 in 1A 8-player)

  • Three returning starters
  • 3-3-2 defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Tavon Black, DL, Sr.
  • Camren Carpenter, DL, Sr.
  • Carter Rogers, DB, Sr.

Key defensive newcomers

  • Landon Shumway, LB, Jr.
  • Seth Taylor, DL, Jr.
  • Jaeden Camacho, DB, Jr.
  • John Leber, LB, So.

3. Altamont Longhorns

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Chuck Woodhouse

He’s entering his fourth season as Altamont’s head coach as it will participate in eight-player football for a third straight year. His record the past two seasons is 9-7.

Coach Chuck Woodhouse’s general outlook

We should be pretty competitive. We bring in a really good Fr. class. The players have been working hard and we have a great group of Leadership guys to bring those young one along.

Altamont overview

2023 record: 7-3

2023 RPI ranking: No. 3 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Monticello, 43-8, in the 1A 8-player semifinals

All-time record: 170-300 (50 years)

State titles: None

Region titles: None

Offensive coordinator: Chuck Woodhouse

2023 offense: 35.8 ppg (No. 1 in 1A 8-player)

  • Four returning starters
  • Explosive offensive

Returning offensive starters

  • Easton Theener
  • Dillan Ivie
  • Breydan Jessen
  • Coltan Mullins

Key offensive newcomers

  • Dallan Ledbetter
  • Case Sorenson
  • Kyson Miles
  • Galvan Gardner

Defensive coordinator: Jesse Wickel

2023 defense: 24.7 ppg (No. 2 in 1A 8-player)

  • Five returning starters
  • Stack defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Colton Mullins
  • Thatcher Rust
  • Dillon Ivie
  • Easton Theener
  • Breydan Jessen

4. Water Canyon Wildcats

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Heber Horsley

Led Water Canyon to a 7-13 record in the school’s first two years playing high school football. He’s a graduate of Centenniel Academy in Arizona and Mojave Community College.

Coach Heber Horsley’s general outlook

Excited as we enter our third season.

Water Canyon overview

2023 record: 5-5

2023 RPI ranking: No. 4 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Rich, 55-14, in the 1A 8-player semifinals

All-time record: 8-14 (2 years)

State titles: None

Region titles: None

Offensive coordinator: Heber Horlsey

2023 offense: 31.2 ppg (No. 3 in 1A 8-player)

  • Four returning starters
  • Spread Tempo offense

Returning offensive starters

  • Kylen Brown, Sr., RB
  • Johnny Johnson, Sr., QB
  • Daniel Cox, Sr., WR
  • James Musser, Sr., C

Key offensive newcomers

  • Mark Barlow, So., OL
  • Adam Hammon, Jr., QB
  • John Wayne West, Sr., RB

Defensive coordinator: Robert Hammon

2023 defense: 28.7 ppg (No. 4 in 1A 8-player)

  • Six returning starters
  • 3-3 defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Wallace Cooke, Sr., LB
  • Maverick Barlow, Jr., DE
  • Domanik LaCorti, Sr., DE
  • Daniel Cox, Sr., DB
  • Rylan Barlow, Sr., LB
  • Johnny Johnson, Sr., DB

Key defensive newcomers

  • Mark Barlow, So., DL
  • Adam Hammon, Jr., DB
  • Zander Wright, So., S

5. St. Joseph Jayhawks

2024 Schedule

Head coach: DeShon Butler

Entering his first season as head coach at St. Joseph High School.

Coach DeShon Butler’s general outlook

Saint Joseph High School will be going into this Season with a lot of new faces. We have a lot of speed and athleticism that we hope will benefit us in the long run. Though we are still an inexperienced team with only Kayden Huss (Senior WR/DB) being the only player with more than 3 years of football experience, we still have a lot of talent on the team. We plan on using speed to win us games. Key players to look out for are, Kayden Huss (Senior WR/DB), Brayden Hawkins (Senior DE), Gunner Windsor (Senior QB), and Nicolas Morales (Senior WR/DB). We look to Windsor to lead our offense which is primed to be a high scoring offense. Our Defense will consist of aggression and speed as well.

St. Joseph overview

2023 record: 2-8

2023 RPI ranking: No. 6 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Altamont, 92-33, in the 1A 8-player quarterfinals

All-time record: 2-8 (1 year)

State titles: None

Region titles: None

Offensive coordinator: Deshon Butler

2023 offense: 31.1 ppg (No. 4 in 1A 8-player)

  • One returning starters
  • Spread RPO offense

Returning offensive starters

  • Jesse Benson

Key offensive newcomers

  • Gunner Windsor, Sr., QB
  • Kayden Huss, Sr., WR
  • Nicolas Morales, Sr., WR

Defensive coordinator: Deshon Butler

2023 defense: 53.1 ppg (No. 7 in 1A 8-player)

  • One returning starters
  • 3-3 hybrid defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Jacob Scehnet, So., LB

Key defensive newcomers

  • Brayden Hawkins, Sr., Edge

6. Whitehorse Raiders

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Andrae Beard

Entering his second season as head coach at Whitehorse.

Whitehorse overview

2023 record: 4-5

2023 RPI ranking: No. 5 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Water Canyon, 26-0, in the 1A 8-player quarterfinals

All-time record: 119-204-1 (39 years), 8-11 (two 8-player years)

State titles: None

Region titles: None

2023 offense: 26.44 ppg (No. 5 in 1A 8-player)

2023 defense: 32.11 ppg (No. 5 in 1A 8-player)

Additional info not provided


7. Monument Valley Cougars

2024 Schedule

Head coach: Brad Upshaw

Entering his third year as head coach at Monument Valley after leading the team to a 3-15 that past two seasons.

Coach Brad Upshaw’s general outlook

Our outlook, we’re focused on continuing to grow our understanding of 8 player game and our opponents. In year three we’ve seen some good work from our youngest players in the weight room and with film study.

Monument Valley overview

2023 record: 1-7

2023 RPI ranking: No. 7 in 1A 8-player

2023 postseason: Lost to Monticello, 60-14, in the 1A 8-player quarterfinals

All-time record: 89-180-1 (34 years), 3-15 (two 8-player years)

State titles: None

Region titles: None

Offensive coordinator: Brad Upshaw

2023 offense: 14.75 ppg (No. 7 in 1A 8-player)

  • Four returning starters
  • Spread offense

Returning offensive starters

  • Shayden Fatt, Sr., QB
  • Tobias Gray, Sr., OL
  • Tashawn Nez, So., RB
  • Haylon Harrison, Sr. OL

Key offensive newcomers

  • Kasey Yazzie, Fr., RB
  • Jake Deswood, Fr., WR
  • West Blackmountain, Fr., RB

Defensive coordinator: Roland Yazzie

2023 defense: 51.63 ppg (No. 6 in 1A 8-player)

  • Four returning starters
  • 3-2 defense

Returning defensive starters

  • Shayden Fatt, Sr., LB/DB
  • Tobias Gray, Sr., DL
  • Tashawn Nez, So., DB
  • Haylon Harrison, Sr., DL

Key defensive newcomers

  • Kasey Yazzie, Fr., LB
  • Jake Deswood, Fr., DB
  • West Blackmountain, Fr., DL

8. Utah Military Camp Williams Marauders

2024 Schedule

New team for 2024 season

Head coach: Michael Graham

Heading into his debut season as head coach for the Marauders

Coach Michael Graham’s general outlook

We are extremely excited to respresent the first football team in the history of Utah Military Academy CW. I couldn’t be more proud of how our young men have bought into the work and grind of the summer. We have a lot of youth, with only three seniors and one junior who plans to graduate early. It is many of our athletes first year playing organized football and we look forward to making some noise in an exciting 8-man classification.

Offensive coordinator: Ephraim Schulte

  • Spread offense

Key offensive newcomers

  • David Shern, Jr., QB
  • Talan Andersen, Sr., RB
  • Alex Cruz, Jr., WR
  • Tyler Muse, So., WR

Defensive coordinator: Topher Gomez

  • 3-2 defense

Key defensive newcomers

  • Daniel Wood, Sr., LB
  • David Burr, Jr., DL/LB
  • Braden Walz, Jr., DB
  • James Tilley, Fr., DL

9. Utah Military Hillfield Thunderbirds

2024 Schedule

View Comments

New team for 2024 season

Head coach: Coach May

Heading into his first season as head coach at Hill Field.

No additional info provided

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