Lehi Sports
Season Preview: Pioneer football will be competitive in Larson’s final year
The Lehi High School football team begins the final campaignof the Ed Larson era this week as he previously announced his plans to retire from coaching after the season ends. He will continue to teach at the school.
The Pioneers graduated most of their offensive starters from a year ago, but the new squad has plenty of talent. The defense has strong veteran anchors who will be counted on to hold down the fort while the newcomers get used to their roles at the varsity level.
Lehi’s hopes this year sit squarely on the shoulders of returning senior quarterback Jett Niu (6-foot-3, 185 lbs.). Larson said that Jett is physically farther along than a year ago. “He recently ran a 4.6-second 40 for us and we were impressed with that,” the coach said.
“His work habits in the weight room are outstanding,” the coachcontinued. “He’s maturing and understanding the scheme even better. His leadership skill set is as good as anybody’s in that department with these guys. It’s always good to have an experienced quarterback.”
Other offensive returners include senior Mays Madsen (5-9, 160), who moved to the slot receiver position this year, and junior running back Devaughn Eka (5-11, 185) in his third season as a varsity contributor.
“Devaughn is bigger and faster and he’s an exciting player,” Larson said. “Overall, I love our skill set on offense. We have some work to do on the line, but we have some good size there.”
On the other side of the ball, he has two excellent defensive ends returning in senior Fuapauna Mama (6-2, 235) and junior Penisimani Takitaki (6-3, 220). Other veterans include junior defensive tackle Isaac Sweat (6-2, 260) and senior linebackersCarson Wren (6-0, 185) and Paul Latu (6-1, 215).
In the secondary, you’ll recognize seniors Ozzie Williams (6-0, 160) at corner and Ezaiah Mama (6-1, 190) at safety. Larson believes he has the best kicker in the state in senior Gavin Fenn(6-3, 200), who is coming off a record-setting season last year.
Key newcomers that the coach expects to make a splash include the receiving group of senior Griffin Faamausili (6-2, 190),junior Legend Glasker (6-2, 165), and junior Bryton Niu (6-5, 220) at tight end.
Three offensive linemen that Larson will rely on are senior Rock Olsen (6-7, 310) and junior Matekitonga Havea (6-6, 290) at the tackle spots, and at center will be senior Jack Pustejovsky (6-1, 275), a move-in from California whose father was transferred here for work.
The O-line will also include senior Nolan Morris (6-1, 280) at right guard and junior Crew Fabrizio (6-4, 240) at left guard, among others.
Newcomers on the defensive line include senior Jeremiah Onwo(6-0, 255), a transfer Juan Diego; senior Leonaitasi Esikia (6-1, 215), a transfer a year ago from Highland High School at outside back who Larson called a “big-time player;” and senior Abe Jager (6-2, 175), who came here from Alta in the spring.
Fresh talent in the secondary includes junior Murph Madsen (5-10, 165) at the other safety spot, where he is competing with senior Shad Olsen (5-11, 170). Larson has two young corners he really likes in juniors Treyson Fabrizio (5-6, 145) and GavinSmith (5-10, 145), who are vying for quality minutes.
Junior Briggs Love (6-1, 260) is expected to rotate with Sweat and Onwo at defensive tackle. The coach said he loves his defense and has been especially impressed by how Williams progressed during the offseason as well as the speed of his linebackers and the development of his defensive tackles.
However, Larson is taking nothing for granted. “We’re going to be tested,” he said. “Are we physically and mentally up to 6A ball? Do we understand how to fight through bumps and bruises? The answers to those questions will help determine what kind of season we have.”
He expects Region 3 to be a dogfight again, with Lone Peak and Skyridge contending for the top spot along with his own team, but he added that any team in the region is capable of earning a win on any given night.
“Anyone could be on top at the end,” Larson said. “It’s going to be a matter of attrition by player health and how each one progresses in his role. I think we’re talented, I just don’t know yet about our physicality and toughness.”
The coach concurs with his peers that Corner Canyon is the team to beat in Class 6A again this year, but added, “Let’s see if somebody from our region can’t sneak up on them. We’ll see how they do with their transfers and a new quarterback.”
He expects his own team to be more competitive if they end up facing the Chargers during the playoffs again. He thinks his team will progress well with the caliber of opponents they will be facing.
“We have a pretty strong home schedule this year,” Larson said. “Davis and Bingham were both quarterfinalists last year. We’ll have American Fork and Westlake here, and those are some great cross-town rivalries. We hope to give our fans a good show.”
The Pioneers have ended up with one blank on their docket (Sept. 6) after a late drop notification from the scheduled opponent. Larson was unable to find a game for that date even though he tried all the surrounding states as well as Utah to get one.
Lehi welcomes the Darts to open the season Friday (Aug. 16) at 7 p.m. The Pioneers will next visit Desert Hills on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
