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HERRIMAN - It didn't take the Herriman Mustangs long to find success. They reached the 5A playoffs last year, in their first year of existence. Year two has been even better. Now in 4A the Mustangs are ranked fifth in the state thanks to a 5-0 start.
"It's a great ride so far," said Larry Wilson, head coach of the Mustangs. "I think we're still in the honeymoon phase. At some point that honeymoon phase will end."
"I definitely think people should be looking out for us," said David Christensen, a receiver for the Mustangs, "because we're not going to, we work pretty dang hard I'm not going to lie. We have Coach Wilson. "
Head coach Larry Wilson has a history of winning. He coached players like Haloti Ngata and Morgan Scalley at Highland. With the support of administration, his coaching staff and the community he has implemented his successful philosophy in Herriman.
"I think that when you care about kids it's very obvious to them and their parents that it's more than just football," Wilson said, "I think then they're willing to believe in you and trust in you and do the things you ask them to do."
"A lot of programs say you have to do this and that and some kids do it," said Tueni Lupeamanu, Herriman's quarterback, "but with our program every kid's bought in even the kids that don't play they contribute on the sidelines and it's just helped us throughout the season. We may not be the best, the fastest team, the strongest team, but I know we definitely are the most prepared team in our upcoming games. We were last year too, with what we had; we just did what we could. But this year, we're definitely making a statement."
"We try to be the hardest working staff in the state and I think that helps," said Danny Dupaix, a member of the Herriman coaching staff. "We try to have the hardest working players in the state and that's been huge for us. These guys have really, really committed themselves to this program and we're starting to see the results."
That work paid off on Aug. 27 the Mustangs faced their rivals Riverton at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"I think the thing that characterizes this team is perseverance," Wilson said.
They rallied from 14 down to force overtime, where quarterback Lupeamanu connected with Christensen for the game-winning two-point conversion.
"Dagger," Christensen said after the victory.
"It meant a lot to me, you know, I was crying after the game," Lupeamanu said.
It was a signature win for the program that earned respect across the state. They hope to carry that relentless style throughout the rest of the season.
"Our players have had that relentless attitude," Wilson said. "They're going to keep on playing for 48 minutes, and they're going to keep playing hard. And when the final gun goes off you look at the scoreboard and see what happened."
"The coaching staff here is phenomenal and I'm loving it," Christensen said. "I know that we can go all the way, we have the opportunity to and we just have to take it."
Email: jjensen@ksl.com
Twitter: @JJSportsBeat
