The Tigers have good skill players and low participation, perhaps the fewest number of kids they’ve had for several years now, and they’re dealing with summer injuries to key players.

It’s a small group, but it’s apparently a tight group.

“I’d say this group much more than any I’ve had, they like each other, they play hard, they love each other, there’s good camaraderie. It’s just gonna be a work in progress with the only way to get experience is by going and playing,” head coach Erik Thompson said.

Not many starters or regulars return from last year’s team that went 3-8, but the Tigers have a few key guys in key spots.

Patrick Carr, Standard-Examiner

Running back Max Trujillo moves into the feature back role after a 519-yard season last year. Leading receiver Kire Thompson, Erik’s oldest son, returns, as does tight end Lincoln Barnes.

Erik Thompson is also excited about Zach Richards at receiver — he’s started two years at corner — along with Kale Adams and D’marion Graves.

“This year I’d say all the people who are starting and are the dudes, they’ve all worked really hard. That just shows something great about our team that our leaders are actually getting stronger and putting in work,” senior Kire Thompson said.

Apart from that group, there’s a whole lot of varsity inexperience.

All offseason, the Tigers have had a quarterback battle between junior Vinnie Apodaca and senior Will Minkevitch. It’s a situation where if one player’s the starter, the other might still play somewhere like safety.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

The offensive line has the biggest questions but also the biggest potential. Kolton Rich is the only returning starter there, but he’s dealt with injuries this offseason. The team’s moving Carter Rasmussen to O-line and for everyone else, it’s their first time playing O-line.

Erik Thompson said the most important jobs in football are quarterback and offensive line, and the Tigers have a lot of potential at both.

“Who knows, those guys might end up being really good. You really don’t know in those two spots until the bullets start flying in football, and they deal with stress, and down and distance, and communication and they’re tired and all that stuff,” the coach said.

On defense, Rasmussen goes from linebacker to defensive line, and Trujillo is expected to play some defensive end. Eduardo Contreras and Alonso Solis rotated at defensive tackle last year, and both are two of the strongest kids on the team.

Lucas Heiner, Gordy Allred and Aaron Butler make up the linebacker group. Heiner’s sophomore season in 2021 ended early with a dislocated kneecap, then he broke his leg against South Summit last year as a junior, so Erik Thompson’s hopeful Heiner can get in a full season.

“He would be a three-year starter and a stud for us, he’s just had all these injuries, so no one really knows about him,” Thompson said.

Richards is a starter at corner and safety Jayden Long returns in the secondary. The other corner and safety spots have been up for grabs this summer, as have kicker and punter spots.

Eventually, Erik Thompson feels the team has enough to be pretty competitive, but it’ll take a few games.

“We don’t have a lot of returners, it seems like everyone’s writing us off,” he said. “We’re excited because we feel like the strength of our program is our culture and our love for each other, not whoever the hell is quarterback or running back or receiver or O-line. We’ll find out.”

One thing working in Ogden’s favor is the first three games on the schedule, all of which are winnable. Health is a big thing, as always, as is understanding the playbook.

“Honestly, I think we have a lot of potential, we just need like, you know, it’s a lot of new guys. Gotta get on Hudl, learn their plays and if we do, it’s looking good,” Trujillo said.

QUOTABLE

Erik Thompson has dealt with advanced effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for the last couple years and isn’t teaching at Ogden High anymore. But he wants to keep coaching and be involved with football as long as he can.

“When I’m here for 2-3 hours, I forget about all that. I get lost in the moment, and it’s awesome. It’s like the best thing for my mental health,” he said after practice one day in July.

FACTS and FIGURES

2022 season: 3-7, 2-3 3A North. Injuries decimated the Tigers again, from the offensive line, to running back, to linebacker, to safety and all over. Ogden still won the Iron Horse over Ben Lomond for the sixth straight year, but lost to Manti 48-15 in the first round of the playoffs.

2023 strength of schedule: 61-54 (.530).

Returning starters: 4 offense, 5 defense.

Strength/Weakness: Skill players/Depth.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Max Trujillo, SR., RB/DE: Trujillo rushed for 519 yards and two TDs, plus caught 13 passes last year as the second running back. He’s the main running back this year and will play some defensive end as well.

Kire Thompson, SR., WR/S: Thompson led the team with 33 catches for 687 yards and five TDs last sesason, and he’s going to be more involved in the run game as well as on defense.

Kolton Rich, SR., OL: Rich is the anchor on the O-line, but has been dealing with some injuries. He missed the back half of last season with a broken leg and had a hip problem this offseason, but he should be ready for Week 1.

Zach Richards, SR., CB: Richards has started since he was a sophomore and Erik Thompson called Richards a “junkyard dog.” Richards made 39 tackles with two interceptions last year.

Lucas Heiner, SR., LB/RB: Heiner’s last two seasons have been cut short by bad injuries, but he’s a “glue guy” in Erik Thompson’s estimation, as well as a high-potential linebacker.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ogden’s won the Iron Horse six straight years and has won the last seven games overall against Ben Lomond, including their 2020 playoff meeting.

In general, if the Tigers run the ball well, they do better. Last year, they were 3-3 when rushing for 150-plus yards as a team and 0-5 when they didn’t hit 150. In 2021, they were 4-3 when rushing for 150-plus yards and 0-5 when they were sub-150.

Ogden’s Week 2 opponent is Judge Memorial, who’s coached by Will Hawes. Hawes is a Weber State alumnus who was previously a head coach at Clearfield and Layton Christian.

Ogden and Carbon (Week 3 opponent) played in the 1938 Class A semifinal and the Dinos won 13-7.

All-time record against this year’s opponents: 0-0 against Cottonwood, 7-13 against Judge Memorial, 7-12 against Carbon, 0-2 against South Summit, 0-2 against Richfield, 3-2 against Union, 3-11 against Grantsville, 0-2 against Juan Diego, 3-15 against Morgan and 53-22 against Ben Lomond.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

Ogden has a good mix of winnable games in its non-region schedule. The Tigers start with Cottonwood, and this isn’t your dad’s Cottonwood program from the 2000s that regularly factored in the playoffs and scored 40 points per game. The Colts are climbing out of a three-year period as football independents and struggle with numbers, just like Ogden.

Next, the Tigers face 2A Judge Memorial, which has also struggled the last decade with low numbers and such, but is coming off a 4-7 season that was its best since 2017.

Ogden has another winnable game at Carbon (2-9 last year), who also has low numbers, before tough games at Richfield (7-5) and home against South Summit (11-1, went to 2A semifinal).

The Tigers get Morgan and Grantsville both at home this year, and are at Ben Lomond for the Iron Horse, which is on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday this year but still with its 5 p.m. kickoff time.

SCHEDULE

All games 7 p.m.

Aug. 11: Cottonwood

Aug. 18: Judge Memorial

Aug. 25: at Carbon

Sept. 1: at Richfield

Sept. 8: South Summit

Sept. 15: at Union*

Sept: 22: Grantsville*

Sept: 29: at Juan Diego*

Oct. 6: Morgan*

Thurs., Oct. 12: at Ben Lomond*, 5 p.m., Iron Horse Game

* — Denotes 3A North region game

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.