Fremont football preview: Silverwolves will field young, inexperienced team
-
- Fremont High’s Christian Blanch (35) carries the ball while Brennen Martin (38) runs during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Jack Widdison, left, tackles Ridge Whitney during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s football team practices Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High football players get set to run a play during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Anthony Marziale runs the ball during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Hayden Willis carries the ball during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s football team practices on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Luke Shulz carries the ball during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Ridge Whitney, right, carries the ball while Jack Widdison (25) positions himself for a tackle during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s football team practices on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
-
- Fremont High’s Krew Hassell looks toward the field during a football practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Fremont High School in Plain City.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misstated Brant Koford’s grade year.
PLAIN CITY — High school sophomores usually don’t end up on the varsity football team en masse unless they’re part of a once-in-a-generation group or if the football team is just plain young.
In two years, Fremont High will find out how high the ceiling of its current sophomore class is. For now, at least, the Silverwolves are young by necessity.
“We’re gonna be young, probably going to have a sophomore free safety, there’s going to be some sophomores on the field,” first-year head coach Clay Bayard said.
Fremont normally has a handful or several returning starters but brings back three bona fide returners on defense and two on offense from last year’s 4-7 team.
Bayard says the transition to head coach from offensive coordinator has been good and he’s gotten a lot of support from the school. He said he wants to the kids to be a team that the community supports.
Bayard, who replaces Ross Arnold, said he’s emphasizing details, as well as on-field and off-field discipline.
“I feel like if you do all of those things, the score will take care of itself,” he said.
The further into the details one goes, more team-specific challenges emerge. The Silverwolves were already going to be young and inexperienced in 2022, then had three starters leave (two transfers).
It’s tempting to play the best four or five players on the team as two-way starters, but Bayard isn’t a fan of two-way starters.
“Your return on investment starts to diminish, right? You’re going to be tired all game and you’re playing at a C level on both sides of the ball,” Bayard said.
He’s fine with someone starting on one side of the ball and rotating in occasionally on the other side, like senior linebacker Christian Blanch.
He’ll start at linebacker and rotate at running back, the latter of which will be a position by committee with players such as Brigg Grange, Noah Austin and Brant Koford in the mix there.
Blanch highlighted a couple of things the Silverwolves need to do to achieve their goals, rather than underachieve.
“Everyone knowing their job, and everyone needs to understand what they need to do to achieve what we have. I feel like everyone has an understanding, and everyone knows what we need to do to be great,” Blanch said.
His replacement, Brant “Bubba” Koford, stepped in as a freshman and returns this year to form the only position group with multiple returners.
Quarterback will likely be Bodee Goins’ position to start. Goins, a senior, started one game and played in another last year with three touchdown passes, two picks and a 1-1 record as a starter.
He’ll have one returning starting receiver, senior David Calvert (400 yards, six touchdowns). Calvert said he likes Bayard’s detail-oriented approach.
“Do the little things right and try to do everything right even in your daily life, treat your teachers great, be a good student, do all the drills right, play hard and that’s gonna help,” Calvert said.
Above all of the shortcomings that naturally come with youth, inexperience and adjusting to a new modus operandi under a new head coach, Bayard said the team needs to learn how to win.
Three of Fremont’s seven losses last year were by one possession and three more were by 14 points or less. But the “learning how to win” idea isn’t limited just to games.
“X’s and O’s are X’s and O’s, but it comes down to you learning how to win your one-on-one. We start doing that and start playing with some … intensity, we can win our one-on-ones and if we don’t do that, it’s going to be a long season,” Bayard said.
WHAT’S NEW
Bayard is the new head coach and Lindsay Hassell is the new defensive coordinator. More new coaches include Zach Vigil (former NFL player) and former Weber State defensive lineman Jake Gallegos.
QUOTABLE
Regarding Fremont’s opening game against state title favorite Skyridge, Bayard said that game shouldn’t make the team nervous no matter how good Skyridge is — or for that matter, how good any opponent is.
“The point is take what they give you because there are things there, there are things that you’re taught to throw and do, or blitz and do, but don’t do them in those games because all of a sudden, we forget who we are and what we’re about. Games like that for the most part, it can be a 35-21 game, but it ends up being a 49-3 game.”
FACTS and FIGURES
2021 season: 4-7, 2-4 Region 1. Fremont started the year 3-1, then lost six of its final seven games including a 31-30 overtime playoff game at Kearns.
2022 strength of schedule: 67-42 (.615). The Silverwolves have the toughest nonregion strength of schedule of any team in Northern Utah as their three foes (Skyridge, Roy and Lehi) combined to go 29-9 last year. Seven of their nine games are against teams who had a winning record in 2021.
Players to watch: David Calvert (WR), Christian Blanch (LB/RB), Dax Iverson (K/P), Bodee Goins (QB), Brant Koford (LB), Ridge Whitney (CB)
Returning starters: 2 offense, 3 defense, 1 specialist
Strength/Weakness: Linebackers/Inexperience and youth
NOTES
Fremont will face East in Week 3, a late add to the schedule after previous opponent Highland scheduled Bear River instead.
Fremont has an eight-game winning streak over Clearfield going back to 2009. Last year, the Silverwolves broke a seven-game losing run to Roy, but they still have a five-game losing streak against Weber.
Blanch only played five games last year due to a season-ending knee injury, but his eight tackles for loss ranked fourth in Region 1 and his four sacks ranked seventh, according to MaxPreps.
Transfer-wise, Fremont lost starting offensive lineman Matthew Snarr (Corner Canyon), safety and leading tackler Dahrius Romander (Snow Canyon) and defensive tackle Tayson Samaniego (United States Marine Corps).
Bayard is the fourth different Fremont head coach. The other three averaged four wins and six losses in their first seasons as head coach.
Fortune favors Fremont. The Silverwolves have only ever had five losing seasons since 1994, and four of those losing seasons — only once have they had consecutive losing seasons — were followed by a .500 or better record the next year.
SCHEDULE
All games 7 p.m.
Aug. 12: Skyridge
Aug. 19: at Roy^
Aug. 26: at East
Sept. 2: Clearfield*
Sept. 9: Layton*
Sept. 16: at Lehi
Sept. 23: at Davis*
Sept. 30: at Syracuse*
Thur., Oct. 6: at Farmington*
Wed., Oct. 12: Weber*
* — Denotes Region 1 game
^ — TV broadcast on KMYU-TV
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.