Syracuse football preview: Titans have plenty of experience, region title credentials for 2022
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- Syracuse High’s Daxton Faddis (1) celebrates his interception with teammate Jordan Faifai (23) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse quarterback Jake Hopkins (5) eyes a throw to Tyson Stapley (19) during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse High’s Daxton Faddis (1) runs the football during a 6A playoff quarterfinal against Weber on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, at Weber High School in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High running back Logan Payne (38) gets turned upside down in a pile-up of Syracuse defenders on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, in Syracuse.
SYRACUSE — Rain-soaked Northern Utah on Monday, June 20, was somewhat of a parting gift from spring the day before the summer solstice.
It could have been snowing or 100 degrees or gale-force winds outside, and it still wouldn’t have been anything the Syracuse High football team hadn’t seen before.
Senior defensive tackle Sam Pula, who’s expected to be a four-year starter, perfectly summed up the Titans’ hallmark ahead of the 2022 season.
“I’ve been here for a while,” Pula said, smiling.
Pula is one of a solid handful of Syracuse players who will be either a three-year or four-year starter this year. Senior safety Daxton Faddis, senior linebacker Miles Draper, junior two-way player Jake Metcalfe and senior safety Brevin Hamblin all have multiple years of starting experience.
Add the handful of multi-year starters in with a team that brings back just about everyone from 2021, and one gets a team that’s being talked about as a contender — along with Farmington — for the Region 1 championship.
“We don’t want to let it get to our heads, you know. We’re always working, always thinking about the playoff Weber game we lost, or the Hail Mary against Davis,” Faddis said. “So we’re always thinking about those things and making that fuel us instead of anything else.”
In 2021, the Titans went 8-5 and lost at Weber in the state quarterfinals 14-7, coming one possession shy of a semifinal appearance.
There were equal parts good and not so good last year for the Titans. They started the year 4-0 against good opposition, then lost two in a row to open Region 1 on a 50-yard field goal against Weber and a Hail Mary loss at Davis the next week.
Defensively, Syracuse forced 29 turnovers in 13 games, yet allowed 136 rushing yards per game on 4.6 yards per carry. The latter is an area Faddis hopes to improve in 2022.
Pula stressed the team needs to finish strong this year. In one-possession games last year, Syracuse went 2-4. The team often played well in the start and middle, but sometimes faltered at the end.
Along with the aforementioned returning starters, quarterback Jake Hopkins returns along with receivers Noah Yeates and Dylan Croxford, plus four offensive linemen.
Head coach Mike Knight said he wants Syracuse to run the ball better on offense this year. Last season, the Titans ran the ball by committee with Faddis leading the team in rushing yards.
Having four offensive linemen returning should help the run game, as should a well-timed addition. Junior running back Kobe Bennett transferred to Syracuse this summer from Roy High after rushing for 703 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021 as a sophomore.
As for the experience and talk about whether the Titans are a team to beat in Region 1, Knight says he tries not to compare Syracuse to other teams in the region. Rather, he compares this year’s team to successful Syracuse teams in the past.
Those past teams had a lot of experience, camaraderie and they worked hard. It’s apparent to Knight that this year’s edition of the Titans is well-equipped for a good year.
Earlier this summer, he talked to some of the players — specifically the ones who’ve been in the program for multiple years — and put things in perspective.
“Think about all the hours upon hours you’ve put in the weight room and the practices all for 10 football games and really, when you think about it over the course of your career, you’re hoping you play between 45 and 50 (games). That’s a lot of work and effort and just for that amount of time,” Knight said.
“So they haven’t wavered. They come every day no matter what, they’ve been working hard. I just hope for their sake that they get the season that they want.”
QUOTABLE
Time goes fast for senior defensive lineman Sam Pula, who’s entering his fourth year as a starter.
“I would say it’s hard to think about. People I played up with when I was a little freshman, they’d go, ‘Oh time will come fast and you’ll be a senior one day.’ Oh OK, I didn’t really take that as to word until now and it’s my senior year,” he said.
FACTS and FIGURES
2021 season: 8-5, 2-4 Region 1. Syracuse went 4-0 in non-region games, limped through region play, got the No. 13 seed in the playoffs, won two playoff games and lost 14-7 at No. 4 Weber in the quarterfinals.
2022 strength of schedule: 55-58 (.487). Syracuse opens the season with probably its toughest non-region game at Region 3 champion Riverton, which looks closer to being a reloading team rather than a rebuilding one. The schedule sets up well not only for the Titans to have a winning record, but to get good wins that would help their playoff seed.
Players to watch: Miles Draper (LB), Daxton Faddis (S), Sam Pula (DL), Jake Metcalfe (WR/S), Jake Hopkins (QB), Tyson Sweeten (DL), Brevin Hamblin (S), Tate Hokum (OL), Afleck Ladore (OL)
Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense
Strength/Weakness: Experience/Running game
NOTES
Since opening in 2007, Syracuse has an all-time record of 99-66 and is one win away from No. 100.
The Titans are the only team in the region to have a 100-tackle player returning on defense this year, that being Miles Draper, who had 105.
Syracuse has a 12-game winning streak against Layton (last loss in 2009).
SCHEDULE
All games 7 p.m.
Aug. 12: at Riverton
Aug. 19: Brighton
Aug. 26: Westlake
Sept. 2: at Salem Hills
Sept. 9: at Weber*
Sept. 16: Davis*
Sept. 23: at Clearfield*
Sept. 30: Fremont*
Thur., Oct. 6: at Layton*
Wed., Oct. 12: Farmington*^
* — Denotes Region 1 game
^ — Game may be selected for broadcast by KJZZ
