AMERICAN FORK CAVEMEN

Head coach: Aaron Behm (15th season)

2023 record: 11-2 overall, 4-1 6A Region 3 (1st)

Playoffs: No. 1 seed, lost to No. 4 Skyridge, 34-21, in 6A semifinals

Players to watch: Cade Wilkinson (Sr. WR), Justin Bourgeois (Sr. DB/WR), Tayvin Jensen (Sr. OL), David Gaisford (Sr. QB), Will Meine (Sr. DB), Kaleb Huff (Sr. DL/LB)

Outlook: With only a few returners who saw significant action last fall on the senior-heavy American Fork squad, Caveman head coach Aaron Behm said this is a time of opportunity in the program.

“Lots of guys will be getting chances to step up and fill in for the really good senior class we had last year,” Behm said. “It’s really exciting to see those guys get their opportunities.”

Going through a lot of roster turnover requires a program to rely on the culture that is in place, according to Behm.

“You let your kids know that you expect them to keep the standards up, that we have a really high level of how we want to play football,” Behm said. “It’s our goal to achieve that every year. The more comfortable they are with the culture and expectations, the faster they will get up to speed.”

The few returners — guys like senior wide receiver Cade Wilkinson, senior defensive back Justin Bourgeois and senior offensive lineman Tayvin Jensen — will shoulder a lot of the responsibility of getting all of the new starters on the same page and ready to compete in the always-tough Region 3.

“We need to grow every single week,” Behm said. “Our schedule is tough, so we need to embrace each other and the process of becoming the best we can be.”

Building Culture: “Culture is shared attitudes, values and beliefs. Ours are that we want every kid who comes through American Fork football to learn to love three things: a challenge, the process and your teammates. Football is hard. Our region is hard. The physicality of the game is hard. We want the kids to love the process of becoming the best football player they can, as well as being the best student and person. I feel like if you get a group of teenage boys to embrace doing hard things and doing it together, you’ve got a shot to be really good every year.” – Aaron Behm.