Titles change, stripes don’t: Larsen takes charge of Ogden High football, eyes strong start with veteran core
New coaching era begins with solid numbers and plenty of questions
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- Ogden High senior Jayden Long bursts through a morning workout on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Maurice ‘Rete’ Conroy Football Stadium in Ogden.
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- Ogden High coach Terry Larsen directs a morning workout on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Maurice ‘Rete’ Conroy Football Stadium in Ogden.
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- Ogden’s Jackson Turner (22) eyes an incoming football as Ben Lomond’s Amir Odeh (19) defends during the Iron Horse Game on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Ogden.
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- Ogden junior Keen Crowther (14) dashes ahead during a game vs. Morgan Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Morgan.
OGDEN — For the better part of Erik Thompson’s tenure in charge of Ogden High’s football program, the longtime high school coach shared an office alongside Terry Larsen, his defensive coordinator and assistant coach.
Larsen led eight separate defenses during Thompson’s 38-51 tenure. He’d bump up to associate head coach upon Thompson’s ALS diagnosis in 2021.
So, as Thompson turned the corner into the non-football chapter of his battle with ALS, Ogden didn’t need to look far in the coaches’ office for the program’s next head coach.
With Larsen returning as head coach, Ogden retained offensive coordinator Brogan Poll and athletic director Ross Arnold (linebackers, running backs, specialists) on staff, with a handful of new hires filling the gaps for an otherwise familiar operation.
“Those two have been great,” Larsen said. “They’ve kind of just followed my lead. When I’m being pulled in any which direction, those are my go-to guys.
“I hired four or five new coaches, so getting those guys up to speed has been a challenge, but this is going to be a challenging first year. I think they’re great, and my staff’s done a great job building relationships with kids and building them up.”
Across the board, Larsen returns 12 starters (seven offensive, five defensive) from last year’s 7-4 campaign, which saw the Tigers manage their first 5-0 start since 2009. But it won’t come without a bit of tinkering as the Poll-led offense replaces an important vacancy at quarterback.
Senior Keen Crowther, Ogden’s leading rusher with 561 total yards in 2024, is moving to the backfield full-time alongside junior newcomer Anderson Curry. Junior Blake Wilson fills the quarterback spot, previously split between Crowther and now-graduate Vincent Apodoca.
The move caters to deep numbers along the offensive line, led by veterans Wyatt Wilkinson and Ryan Kirkland. The return of receiver-safety Jayden Long, missing much of his junior season with an ACL tear, frees Wilson up to fill the void under center.
“It’s been good because, playing wide receiver, I know where I want the ball and where I should put it,” Weston said. “I like our weapons, and we’ll be able to take some shots with them.”
Missing from Weston’s list of targets is Synic Harvey, who transferred to Roy following his sophomore year. But Ogden returns a tight end duo of senior Max Wilson and junior Nash Bockwoldt, and junior Jack Thompson will also line up at receiver again this fall.
Much of that depth replicates itself on the defensive side of the ball, with a Crowther-Wilson duo at linebacker and Long joining senior safety Harrison Hoskins in the secondary. As head coach, Larsen will remain the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for a ninth consecutive season.
“You’re not changing how you play or practice, and that means you’re more comfortable when you become older and more developed in a program,” Wilson said. “I think that’s a big deal, and (Larsen)’s been able to run it so well this year.”
Larsen and staff already have a sense of what’s possible, and not just from last season. Summer scrimmages against the likes of Roy, Viewmont and West Field left Larsen encouraged about the Tigers’ pad level heading into his first season as head coach.
“We held our own against some of those big schools,” Larsen said. “I’m optimistic, man. I think we’ve got a good core group of guys (and) enough leadership with our seniors and juniors. We have a really good junior class that’s going to be playing a lot (and) getting a lot of reps.”
As encouraging as all the signs are, Larsen’s well aware Ogden has a short window to figure itself out, and an even shorter window to do so following their home opener against Summit Academy on Aug. 15.
The Tigers will hit the road six separate times throughout the coming season, playing at home just twice in September. Ogden travels to Salt Lake City to meet Judge Memorial in Week 2 and then hauls 2 1/2 hours to Carbon in Week 3.
Week 4’s matchup with Clearfield, the second of four home regular-season games, will be a special homecoming for Larsen and Falcons second-year coach Cody Caputo, former teammates at Weber State, meeting across non-region lines.
“I really like our preseason schedule,” Larsen said. “We have the potential to be 4-0, 5-0 if we play well. We have a lot of away games this year (and) I think we had six or seven home games last year, so it’s the opposite, we’re on the road quite a bit, so we’ve got to learn to win on the road and then take care of the home games.”
Ogden’s region wasn’t spared from realignment, either.
Logan slides into 3A-North following a 0-6 finish in 4A Region 11; defending 3A state champion Morgan, Ben Lomond, Grantsville, and Union each remain intact. BL arguably undergoes a far more daunting coaching change with Ty Smith hoping to boot the Scots into gear this fall.
Two of Ogden’s most travel-friendly trips are Morgan on Oct. 9 and Ben Lomond on Oct. 15, two very different football games that will test where the Tigers’ stamina can be pushed before the postseason. Last season, Ogden rebounded from a 62-0 shutout at Morgan in Week 8 to kick over its rival Scots 56-8 in the regular-season finale and reach the quarterfinals during a seventh consecutive playoff appearance.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
