Then in April, the carnival workers flipped the on/off switch and the carousel sprang to life. Fotu Katoa, Layton High’s football head coach of three years, resigned suddenly to pursue a business venture.

The Lancers hired Syracuse High baseball head coach and football running backs coach Trevor Thomas, an LHS alumnus, as their new head coach in mid-May.

“We were kind of stressed because, yeah, it’s a new coach, and I don’t know, we were just kind of worried about what the season will be,” senior running back Porter Cannon said.

That was almost three months to the date before their Aug. 11 opener against Alta and right in the middle of Syracuse baseball’s deep run in the 6A playoffs, so Thomas didn’t start with the Layton football team until June.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

It’s been a bit chaotic since then. The team was senior-heavy last year so the Lancers were going to have a lot of new starters anyway — then several players transferred and some others decided not to play.

After a practice one hot day in mid-July, Thomas sat down in his office, had sweat on his forehead and talked about how he was doing amid a chaotic offseason.

“As good as I can be. It’s been a lot of work already,” he said.

The Lancers have a lot of work to do before the season opener. They’re also learning how Thomas rolls as a head coach and noticed a big difference early on.

“For sure more conditioning. We run way more than last year,” senior Easton McMillan said.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

The team is installing new systems. Koy Cannon is the new offensive coordinator — he’s the older brother of running back Porter Cannon — and he’s putting in a spread/air raid type of offense. He’s the only returning coach from last year’s staff, so he had a relative “head start” on installing the offense.

Tyler Gladwell, the well-traveled former head coach at Bonneville, Davis, Layton and Woods Cross, is the new defensive coordinator. The Lancers are inexperienced as a whole, but they’re particularly green on defense.

“The biggest thing is getting our offense and defense down, getting the schemes in with the kids because it’s all new and we’re trying to — a lot of other teams, well not a lot, all the other high school teams have been going since the spring,” Thomas said.

The Lancers have a handful of returners with starting experience between McMillan, Porter Cannon, lineman Isaac Vimahi, lineman Tyler Croston and placekicker Ryan Wensel. Cannon said a lot of the seniors are poised for a breakout season.

“Like Kanyon Loveland, Easton McMillan, hopefully I will. I think we should all do pretty good and we got some juniors that will be really good as well,” Cannon said.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

Despite some obvious challenges ahead, the players seemed to be optimistic about the direction of things in mid-July, even as Thomas lit into the team one morning after noticing some players were regularly absent from practice.

“It’s been kind of tough, we got a late start, for sure got a late start, but I think we’re making a pretty fast comeback,” McMillan said. “We’re starting to memorize our playbook and things are going smoother.”

Considering the depth, talent and size Layton usually has, it’s long been considered a sleeping giant by those inside and outside the program.

There were signs the giant started to wake with consecutive 6-5 seasons in 2021 and 2022, both of which included first-round playoff wins and overall competitiveness in Region 1 that hadn’t been consistently done since the late 2000s.

Thomas, having coached several games against Layton teams over the years between his football coaching stints at Syracuse and Clearfield, is well aware of the Lancers’ potential.

“Number one, you gotta have players and I think we have players, but two, I think genuinely care for the kids, be there for them. I think when kids see that, they want to play for you,” Thomas said.

He estimated it will take at least a year for things to settle down and for his culture to grow roots. For now, the Lancers are just getting ready for their season opener, whether they’re truly ready or not.

QUOTABLE

What does Thomas want to see out of the team this year?

“Just be competitive. Don’t fold when things go wrong because it’s gonna happen. It’s like life, things are gonna happen, just don’t fold,” he said.

FACTS and FIGURES

2022 season: 6-5, 2-4 Region 1. Layton beat Herriman 36-14 in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Corner Canyon 63-18 in the second round.

2023 strength of schedule: 57-50 (.533).

Returning starters: 3 offense, 1 defense.

Strength/Weakness: Talent/Depth and inexperience.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Porter Cannon, SR., RB/LB: Cannon made a couple starts last year and is the leading returning rusher, having totaled 370 yards and three touchdowns. He was a third-team all-region pick in 2022.

Easton McMillan, SR., TE/LB: He caught 11 passes for 211 yards and two TDs, and is the leading returning receiver. He was a third-team all-region pick last year.

Isaac Vimahi, SR., OL/DL: Vimahi is a two-way returner, one of the team’s best linemen and a team captain.

Madden Sargent, JR., QB: The 6-foot-3 Sargent is the prospective starting quarterback. He has a strong arm, but he’s making the jump from sophomore football straight to the varsity level.

Kanyon Loveland, SR., S/WR: Loveland was 10th on the team in tackles last year with 21, but that makes him the top returning tackler this year.

Ryan Wensel, JR., K/WR/LB: Wensel was a perfect 9 for 9 on field goals with a long of 37 yards, and went 22 for 24 on extra points in 2022. He’s also starting on offense.

DID YOU KNOW?

After the season opener against Alta on Aug. 11, Layton won’t have a home game until Sept. 22 against Farmington. The Lancers have the longest gap between home games of any Region 1 team.

Layton’s most-played rivalry is Clearfield, with 54 meetings since they first played in 1968. The two teams won’t play this year for the first time since 2012.

Last year’s playoff win over Herriman secured the Lancers back-to-back seasons with playoff wins for the first time since 2007-08. Since 2019, Layton’s 3-4 in the playoffs.

Layton has a handful of current and former head coaches on its staff. For starters, Thomas was Syracuse’s baseball coach and at one time, Clearfield’s baseball coach. Gladwell has been a head football coach at Layton, Davis, Bonneville and Woods Cross.

Thomas also brought on Robert Ferneau, who’s currently Layton’s longtime baseball coach, and Jeff Bingham, who has been a head football coach at Layton and Clearfield.

All-time record against this year’s opponents: 3-5 against Alta, 10-21 against Northridge, 0-0 against Skyline (ID), 0-1 against Pleasant Grove, 8-18 against Fremont, 0-2 against Farmington, 15-30 against Davis, 3-13 against Syracuse and 29-20 against Weber.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

Things start tough and stay tough. The opener against Alta will be a physical introduction to high school football for a lot of Layton’s players.

Add in a rivalry game at Northridge, an out-of-state clash with three-time defending Idaho 4A state champion Skyline and a road tilt against reloaded Pleasant Grove, and the bye week from Sept. 4-8 might be an underrated saving grace.

SCHEDULE

All games 7 p.m. unless noted

Aug. 11: Alta

Aug. 18: at Northridge

Aug. 25: vs. Skyline (ID), 5 p.m. at Madison High, Rexburg, ID

Sept. 1: at Pleasant Grove

Sept. 8: BYE

Sept. 15: at Fremont*

Sept: 22: Farmington*

Sept: 29: Davis*

Thurs., Oct. 5: Syracuse*

Wed., Oct. 11: at Weber*

* — Denotes Region 1 game

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