The Emery Spartans are set to enter year number three under head football coach Jon Faimalo. Following a roller coaster season that ended with the team winning just one of ten games, the season opener against Richfield on Aug. 17 cannot come soon enough.

Returning five starters on each side of the ball, this year’s roster will feature just four seniors. The bulk of the team’s numbers sit with the freshman and sophomore group, which is something Faimalo sees as a true positive moving forward.

“I’m looking at 65 kids this year, which is a pretty good group for us,” said Faimalo. “Our numbers as far as upperclassmen go aren’t as big, but I’m hoping we begin to keep some of these younger kids in the program.”

While the program is marred with youth the Spartans will feature leadership at key positions. Returning contributors from 2017 will be quarterback Kyson Stilson, linemen Jesse Barnett and Ashton Rowley, and running back Rance Jensen.

A predominately run oriented team for decades, the Spartans are now entering year three of the spread offense. Stilson, who is entering his second season as the starting quarterback, is looking to build off of an impressive junior campaign that ended with 1,745 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air.

“He’s a kid that we need to absolutely keep healthy because he is a little bit of the x-factor,” said Faimalo, while pointing out Stilson will be used sparingly on defense. “We only have so much depth and he is going to be a big factor offensively. We can’t jeopardize that on defense.”

Barnett and Rowley will be tasked with protecting Stilson in the trenches. While both played a key role last season, they’ll also be asked to provide leadership to a rather young offensive and defensive line.

Joining Rowley and Barnett will be senior Koda Alton, who did not play his junior season. Also joining the mix is center Deaden Behling.

“Ashton (Rowley) and Jesse (Barnett) are going to be our anchors along with Koda, who is an athletic kid and a great baseball player,” said Faimalo when asked about the line. “Behling is going to be our center and I thought he had a great camp. So with those four kids I feel a lot better with the line.”

As far as weapons go for Emery look no further than returning leading rusher Rance Jensen, who averaged 4.1 yards per carry last season. Logging 139 more carries than anyone else on the roster, Jensen could experience a similar workload in 2018.

With leading receiver Colton Willson and Swiss Army Knife Easton Gordon graduating, expect junior Jaymes Bowman to play an even bigger role this season. In 2017 Bowman accumulated over 500 all-purpose yards and found the end zone three times.

In 2018 Emery allowed 30 points per game, ranking eighth in the 3A classifications. Defensively the Spartans will return a stable similar to the offense, showcasing a 4-2-5 and 3-4 look.

Barnett, who finished top five in tackles on the team last season, will move from linebacker to defensive end. Rowley will be used as a key clog in the middle of the defensive line, while Jensen and Bowman will patrol in the secondary.

“We’ll change fronts a little bit to make things different, but the assignments and philosophy will be similar,” said Faimalo. “Last year I thought we were good at times and then we’d let a big play go. We had to get back to fundamentals of tackling and basics of assignments.”

Emery will continue with the official practices leading up to the Black and Gold scrimmage game on Aug. 10. The season opener will take place a week later at home against Richfield, the same team that ended Emery’s season in the opening round of the state tournament.

Listen to coach Jon Faimalo’s interview from Tuesday, July 31 on KOAL’s Drive Time Sports:

 

2017 Recap:

Opponent	Result	Record
@ Richfield	Loss- 21-14	0-1
VS Summit Academy	Loss- 35-3	0-2
VS Payson	Loss 17-0	0-3
@ Manti	Loss 35-14	0-4
VS Judge Memorial	Loss 35-33	0-5 (0-1)
VS Carbon	Win 18-6	1-5 (1-1)
VS Morgan	Loss 47-27	1-6 (1-2)
@ Union	Loss 52-14	1-7 (1-3)
@ Grantsville	Loss 21-13	1-8 (1-4)
@ Richfield (State Tournament)	Loss 21-7	1-9

2018 Schedule:

Date	Opponent	Time
Friday, Aug. 17	VS Richfield	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 24	VS Grand	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 31	@ Payson	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 7	VS Manti	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14	@ Judge Memorial	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 21	@ Carbon	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 28	@ Morgan	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 5	VS Union	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 12	VS Grantsville	7:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 19	Playoffs TBD	7:00 p.m.