Weber football preview: Warriors are young but expectations are still high
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- Weber High players line up for a drill with a tackling sled during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High player catches a football during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Two Weber High football players compete during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High player hauls in a pass during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High player carries the football during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High football player sizes up a dummy on a tackling sled during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High football helmet rests on a bench during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High football player looks in a pass during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High player carries the football during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A Weber High football player runs a route during a practice July 29, 2022, at Weber High School in Pleasant View. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
PLEASANT VIEW — Weber High football was picked to finish tied for fifth in the Standard-Examiner preseason Region 1 coaches poll released in July.
In the Warriors’ previous region title-winning years, they were also picked somewhere around third, fourth or fifth, no matter if they had won the region the prior season, finished second, had their whole team back or no team back.
The difference this year is Weber has a total of seven returning starters and the depth in its current classes is lower than prior years, due to attrition and a handful of transfers to Ben Lomond.
It’s not easy to carry on at a high level after graduating such an impactful senior class that helped get the Warriors to the 6A state semifinals, another Region 1 title and a 10-3 record last year. But that’s exactly the goal. Weber hasn’t won four of the last five Region 1 titles for nothing.
“Yeah it was a great year for sure, but we’re more focused on this year, getting that region championship and seeing how far we can get into the playoffs,” linebacker Konrad Kerr said.
Weber has a ton of young players this year, many of whom will be starters. The best way to get them acclimated to the varsity game is for them to get in the game. Simple as that, quarterback Aidan Carter said.
“We’re just gonna throw them all in there and say here you go, here’s the challenge, here’s the expectation. Top to bottom, we’ve all got to just step up, the expectation’s up here,” Carter paused and raised his hand to the height of his head, “and we’ve got to meet it.”
The Warriors don’t return many key players, but the 6-foot-4 Carter is one of them. Carter went 4-1 as a starter after Jake Lindsay’s season-ending ankle injury last season and threw for 1,188 yards with 12 touchdowns against four interceptions.
There wasn’t much of a drop-off with Carter running the offense as Weber won Region 1 with an unbeaten record and got to the state semifinals.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium, though, the best Weber High team in decades, which was also one of the best Northern Utah teams in decades, lost 48-13 against powerhouse Corner Canyon in a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter.
“We got there and we got our butts handed to us, and I think it humbled us more than anything. We realized what it takes to get there,” Carter said.
So now, after a decorated senior class led by Cannon DeVries, Aisea Moa, Jake Lindsay and Logan Payne graduated, it’s back to the drawing board. And the drawing board has a bunch of young players and inexperienced players wearing the red and black now.
“They’re pretty good,” Carter said. “We’re just getting ready for Week 1, we’re trying to get better every day and trying to get our new guys up to speed, and trying to get the older guys to step up into a leader role, so that’s a transition going from juniors letting the seniors lead and now being a senior.”
This exact situation — a young and inexperienced team — would’ve been a nightmare for Weber 10 years ago.
Not anymore. The incoming ninth and 10th-graders have grown up only knowing Weber as the team to beat and, head coach Jayson Anderson said, they’re excited to join the program and see what they can do.
Other football teams in the area also only know Weber as the team to beat.
“Now people, when they hear Weber High, its not like, ‘Oh those guys don’t play good football.’ I think we’ve earned a little bit of respect based off of our success, but it’s your turn now, what’s your legacy going to be,” Anderson said.
WHAT’S NEW
Matt Hammer, a very familiar face to the red and black, is back helping with the program, though in a somewhat limited capacity helping with the offense, Anderson said.
In 2013, Hammer took over a Weber program on a 23-game losing streak and was head coach through 2018. The Warriors won back-to-back Region 1 titles in 2017-18 before Hammer left to coach at Weber State from 2019-21.
Anderson is taking over offensive coordinator duties once again.
QUOTABLE
“We’ve got a lot of doubters this season and we’re going to prove them wrong,” linebacker Konrad Kerr said.
FACTS and FIGURES
2021 season: 10-3, 6-0 Region 1. It was Weber’s best season since 1999, the 10-game winning streak was the longest in school history, the Warriors won a fourth region title in five years and advanced to the state semifinals where they lost 48-13 to Corner Canyon.
2022 strength of schedule: 59-56 (.513). All four non-region opponents had a winning record last year. The first five games are a gauntlet, starting with Bingham, American Fork, Bonneville, Farmington, Syracuse and a fair chance of being sub-.500 the first half of the year.
Players to watch: Aidan Carter (QB), Konrad Kerr (LB), Crash Coggins (LB), Salesi Moa (WR), Dakota Wilcox (OL), Porter Hayes (OL), Todd Johnson (OL), Teegan Humphreys (CB)
Returning starters: 3 offense, 4 defense
Strength/Weakness: Linebackers and Quarterback/Inexperience
NOTES
Weber and Roy didn’t play for The Shield in either of the last two years due to scheduling conflicts caused by being in different regions. Anderson says he anticipates the Roy game returning to the schedule.
Weber would’ve had three starting linebackers returning; however, senior Carter Roberts, the team’s leading tackler in 2021 with 90 tackles, blew out his knee in June and is expected to miss the whole season.
Crash Coggins (71 tackles) and Konrad Kerr (46 tackles) are the top two returning tacklers. The leading returners in sacks are Kerr and defensive back Teegan Humphreys, who both registered three sacks in 2021.
The current streak of five straight winning seasons matches Weber’s run of five straight winning seasons from 1995-99.
Weber has a seven-game winning streak against Clearfield (dating back to 2010) and a five-game win streak against Fremont starting in 2017.
SCHEDULE
All games 7 p.m.
Aug. 12: Bingham
Aug. 19: American Fork
Aug. 26: at Bonneville
Thur., Sept. 1: at Farmington*^
Sept. 9: Syracuse*
Sept. 16: Clearfield*
Sept. 23: at Layton*
Sept. 30: at Olympus
Thur., Oct. 6: Davis*
Wed., Oct. 12: at Fremont*
* — Denotes Region 1 game
^ — TV broadcast on KJZZ TV
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.