Head Coach: Taylor Walkenhorst (second season)

2021 record: 1-10 overall, 0-5 Region 4

Playoffs: No. 21 seed, lost to No. 12 Syracuse 33-7 in 6A first round

Players to Watch: Jaeden Wright 6-0 195 Sr. RB/LB, Bryce Paulsen 6-3 235 Sr. DL/OL, Wade Christensen So. RB, McKai Peterson 6-2 170 Jr. WR

Outlook: The Vikings picked up just one win last season but the good news is that second-year coach Taylor Walkenhorst played a large number of underclassmen.

“Last year was obviously rough,” Walkenhorst said. “The nice thing about going into this season is we started a ton of sophomores so we have a lot of kids returning with varsity experience and reps. Our off-season was really focused on the weight room. We were way undersized against teams like Lone Peak, Corner Canyon and Skyridge. The one thing we preach every day is we want to play with great effort and technique, and we saw glimpses of that last season.”

Senior Jaeden Wright will play both running back and linebacker with senior Bryce Paulsen and 6-foot-6, 315-pound Levi Bezant handling things on the offensive line. Wade Christensen ran for more than 500 yards as a freshman and has explosive talent. Junior Kael McCoy added 561 receiving yards in his first varsity year. The offensive focus in the offseason has been on ball security, a problem for the young Vikings in 2021.

On the defensive side of the ball, the strength is in the secondary with juniors Shawn Cottle and Gabe McCoy leading the way.

“We’re going to do a lot of the same stuff on defense,” Walkenhorst said. “As the year went on we got better and better on that side of the ball.”

Team Captains: “The players vote and then the coaches discuss it to make sure it reflects the true nature of the team,” Walkenhorst said. “We look for two things: One, that they are service oriented to the team, the school and the community. We need to have Level 5 leadership and the heart of that is serving the team. Two, we need someone who would rather die than lose and help with the attitude and direction of the team. They need to have a ferocious resolve and competitiveness so we can win when the game is on the line.”

2022 Schedule

Friday, Aug 12 Farmington

Friday, Aug 19 at Green Canyon

Friday, Aug 26 at Orem

Friday, Sept 2 Wasatch

Friday, Sept 9 at Riverton

Friday, Sept 16 at Lone Peak

Friday, Sept 23 at Westlake

Friday, Sept 30 American Fork

Thursday, Oct 6 Skyridge

Wednesday, Oct 12 at Corner Canyon

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