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SALT LAKE CITY — High school football is less than a month away and Utah teams around the state are wrapping up their summer training camps. Now is a better time than ever to take a look at the projected top programs in high school football in the 6A classification.
It's important to clarify that these are not necessarily rankings or in any sort of order; they should be viewed as a list of the teams you should get to know before the season starts.
Lone Peak Knights
First up is the defending champions of 6A. With a 4-1 region record and 10-2 overall record, Lone Peak entered the 2021 state RPI tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Knights met Region 4 rival Corner Canyon in the state championship and moved past the Chargers in a 49-42 victory.
The championship squad was senior-heavy, so it's fair to question how the production will be replaced. The only noteworthy returning skills players are the team's two leading receivers from 2022, Cole Christensen and Crew McChesney.
Defensively, the team lost even more — nine of the top 10 leading tacklers were seniors. Defensive tackle Nathan Darrington is the only returning player to record over 20 tackles.
Even with so much turnover in a single offseason, you can never count out Lone Peak. The Knights have made the semifinals or better in the state tournament every year since 6A was introduced by the UHSAA in 2017. With two state titles in the last four seasons, it's safe to say that head coach Bart Brockbank is going to roll out a contender.
Corner Canyon Chargers
The No. 1 seed in the 2021 tournament was none other than Corner Canyon, who has been another absolutely dominant force in the Utah high school football scene. The Chargers went 12-2 last season and finished with a 5-1 record against Region 4 opponents.
Last year's offense was downright prolific, led by Ohio State commit Devin Brown, who threw for 4,881 yards — the fourth most in the nation — and 57 touchdowns. Receiver Cody Hagen had the fifth-most receiving yards in the country with 1,805 yards to go along with his 23 touchdowns. He was named the Deseret News' Mr. Football for his efforts.
The keys to the 2022 offense is in the hands of junior quarterback Isaac Wilson. As the younger brother of BYU alum and current New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, Isaac Wilson is currently the top 2024 prospect in Utah, even though he has yet to start a game.
Corner Canyon returns its leading tackler on defense in outside linebacker Owen Borg, who posted 116 total tackles and eight tackles for loss to go along with four interceptions. He should finish his senior year as one of the top linebackers in the state.
Safety Charlie Ebeling will return after he recorded five interceptions last season; he looks to put his name on the map, as well. Holding down the defensive line will be Teancum Mitchell, who had 42 tackles, six tackles for loss and six sacks as a junior.
If Wilson lives up to the hype, look out for the Chargers — again.
Skyridge Falcons
The Falcons enjoyed a successful 2021 season, going 11-2 overall and 4-1 in Region 4 play. As the No. 3 seed, they cruised past Westlake and Farmington in the tournament but collapsed miserably in the semifinals to Lone Peak 20-0. Still, like their other Region 4 counterparts, the Falcons are going to be among the best teams in Utah.
Quarterback McCae Hillstead played well as a junior last year, throwing for nearly 2,500 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The dual-threat QB added 814 yards and 13 touchdowns with his legs. Nobody in the receiving room was particularly outstanding, but Zeke Greco and tight end Josh Davis both played a big part last season — both will figure to take on even bigger roles this year.
Skyridge ran the ball 387 times in 2021, split largely between senior Jeter Fenton and Hillstead. With Fenton graduated, Hillstead figures to play a large part on the ground again. Expect Tate Walker and Carter Sheffield to be the two main running backs.
The Falcons had an impressive amount of production from their juniors on defense last season, with virtually all of their major contributors set to return. Defensive end Tausili Akana led the team with 78 tackles to go along with a whopping 28 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Sheffield plays a huge part on defense, as well; he posted 17.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season.
Smith Snowden, Saxon Higbee, Jace Doman and Dalton Young make up the defensive backs, and all four players proved to be ballhawks — each snagged at least three picks last season.
Returning more starters than the other threats from Region 4, Skyridge will definitely have the most varsity experience going into this season. Will that be enough to take them over the top?
Weber Warriors
Weber also made it to the semifinals in 2021 after the Warriors won Region 1 with a 6-0 record on their way to a 10-3 season. The No. 4 seed in the tournament, they were eliminated by Corner Canyon 48-13.
Offensively, the only returning starter among the skills positions will be quarterback Aiden Carter, who only started the team's final five games of the season after he replaced an injured Jake Lindsay. He looked promising in his limited action and threw for 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
An overwhelming majority of Weber's offense was produced by seniors in 2021, so not much is known about the group that will be available this fall. Those five starts that Carter was able to get last year should help him out as he leads a group of inexperienced players as a senior.
The Warriors fare much better on defense where the linebacker core returns a lot of talent, like leading tackler Carter Roberts, Crash Coggins and Konrad Kerr to round out the formidable group.
Teegan Humphreys is the team's most notable returning defensive back. Humphreys displayed a rare level of versatility seen in a corner and posted three sacks and three tackles for loss to go along with his 45 tackles as a junior.
Similar to Lone Peak, Weber has consistently been one of the top teams in 6A, and that won't change in 2022.
Syracuse Titans
Syracuse entered last year's state tournament with a pedestrian 8-5 record but ended up making it to the quarterfinals after the Titans upset the No. 5 seeded Mountain Ridge. Syracuse showed plenty of signs it could make a bigger push in 2022.
Running back Chandler Christensen led the team in rushes, receptions and touchdowns as a senior last year. That type of volume will be hard to replace, even with multiple players, but the Titans have plenty to work with coming into 2022.
Last year's starting quarterback was Jake Hopkins. As a sophomore, he threw for 2,277 yards and 17 touchdowns but has 12 interceptions. Syracuse has typically used their quarterbacks in the ground game, but held Hopkins back because he was young. Expect that to change this year.
Forming a committee on the ground to assist Hopkins will be junior Jake Metcalfe and new addition Kobe Bennett, who moved to Syracuse from Roy. Bennett had over 700 yards for the Royals last year. Metcalfe will also factor in as a slot receiver, playing next to senior Dylan Croxford, who had 426 yards and five touchdowns in 2021.
The Titans also return a lot of talent defensively on all three levels.
Miles Draper is a tough and instinctive linebacker, who recorded 105 tackles as a junior to go along with two tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Sam Pula is under 6-feet tall but is a very strong defensive tackle and can control the line of scrimmage on his own.
Brevin Hamblin is returning as the team's free safety, and his seven interceptions tied for the lead in 6A last year. Daxton Faddis will be back a hybrid safety/linebacker and can play the run and the pass extremely well.
With a lot of experience returning in 2022, the Titans could make some noise when the playoffs roll around.
Honorable mentions:
American Fork, Mountain Ridge, Bingham, Riverton.
