Silver Wolves host rival Warriors

PLAIN CITY -- He may wear glasses, but tailback Nick Vigil sees plenty of daylight on the field.

It is the Silver Wolves' homecoming game today against county rival Weber High and the return of former Fremont assistant coach Rick Corbridge, who is the Warriors' new football coach.

"It's been a little difficult staying focused, but it's an average week," the 17-year-old Vigil said. "Coach (Kory) Bosgieter says let all the stuff go by and just win the homecoming game because that's what you'll remember the rest of your life.

"We get amped up for Weber; they're our rival and it gets a little intense," he said. "We definitely want to beat them, and we thought we should have won last year. Weber played well (in a 31-24 home-field victory on Sept. 11, 2009), but I think we could have beaten them last year."

Fremont is 2-1 overall, 2-0 in Region 1; the Warriors are 2-1, 1-1.

"We're going to have to come out strong, play good defense, have good special teams and don't turn the ball over," Vigil said. "I think it will be more of a low-scoring game."

Vigil saw his first varsity action as a sophomore in week 3 against Clearfield last season. He started the following week versus Weber.

"I was surprised I got to play as much as I did last year," he said. "It helped me learn the offense better."

The Silver Wolves employ a two-back set and the spread.

"We're about even between the two; we like to mix things up. We're pretty balanced," Vigil said. "I'm one of the team captains, so I need to be a vocal leader, lead by example and help keep the other guys focused."

Vigil has rushed for 415 yards and three touchdowns on 49 carries. He has 10 receptions for 185 yards, two kickoff returns for 126 yards and a touchdown and is 2-of-2 passing.

"I have a good (offensive) line; they open big holes for me to run through," he said. "I'm more of a between the tackles runner, but I also look to get to the edge. In the passing game, I'm more of a last-option guy and the hot read."

Unlike last season, Vigil is playing defense this year. He and Tate Lewis alternate series at free safety. The move was necessitated when Carson Child broke his collarbone in the Jordan game on Aug. 20.

"I like playing defense a lot. It's fun getting to hit people," Vigil said. "We do a lot of conditioning in the summer, so I'm ready to play both ways. I think we're improving each week. We're getting closer as a team and we're starting to come together. We can always improve on pretty much everything."

Bosgieter has nothing but praise for Vigil.

"Number one, Nick is a very positive kid. He is a hard worker, a good leader and has great character," Bosgieter said. "As a running back, he has great vision and is a talented all-around athlete. Nick is fun to be around, and you love to go to practice every day with kids like him. He and Tate make us better on defense."

By improving his strength and speed, Vigil is doing more things in Fremont's offense.

"Nick works hard in the weight room, and he has a bigger role in the offense this year," Bosgieter said. "Every day is a highlight with Nick; he makes people around him better, too.

"I would like to see Nick get as many touches in a game as possible, but the defense will try and make that tough on us," he said. "We feel like we have other guys we can get the ball to if the defense slows Nick down."

Vigil grew up in Clinton, but his family had a home being built in West Warren which they moved into after the 2009-10 school year started.

"We needed more room for all of our animals -- six horses, three dogs and two cats. We were keeping them at my great uncle Larkin Martinez's house," he said. "I ride horses and go hunting for elk, deer and pheasants, but it's hard to do that in football season. I would much rather be at football practice than hunting; I have all my life to ride horses.

"The team accepted me after I moved in, and I'm glad my parents made the move," Vigil said. "My dad Jamie coached me my whole life, all through little league. My uncle Mark usually comes to all my games and gives me advice because he knows football."

Mark Vigil was the quarterback on Layton's 1978 state 4-A championship team, later playing at the University of Idaho.

"To this point, this is our toughest challenge," Bosgieter said. "We're so young with only 14 seniors, and we've tried to keep them focused. We'll know if we've kept them focused on Friday."

* WEEK 4 NOTES: Ten teams lost last week for the first time this season, leaving 24 undefeated teams. Nine teams got their first season wins with 20 teams still winless. ... Undefeated Davis High is playing its 900th game -- the Darts are 531-340-28 -- joining West, Ogden and Jordan in the 900-game club. ... It's the 58th Iron Horse game between Ben Lomond and Ogden, but the 62nd series meeting which includes four state playoff games. The Scots and Tigers have split the last six regular-season games, but Ogden has a 42-19 lead -- 40-17 in Iron Horse games -- in the uninterrupted series dating back to 1953. Box Elder leads Spanish Fork 4-3, and undefeated Morgan is playing Salem Hills for the third consecutive year. The Trojans whipped the Skyhawks 50-14 in a 2008 state 3-A playoff game at Morgan, and won a 20-19 overtime non-league game last year at Trojan Field. ... Bear River-Highland and Las Vegas-Mountain Crest are first-time meetings.

Tonight’s games