2024 Record: 1-10 overall, 0-5 6A Region 3

Playoffs: No. 18 seed, lost to No. 15 Riverton 14-7 in 6A first round

Players to Watch: Sr. WR Spencer Hafoka, Jr. DL Jackson Mortensen, Jr. QB Connor Ybarra, Jr. LB Derek Brinton, Sr. DB Dexton Nutall, Fr. DE Desert Ale.

Outlook: The Vikings’ new head man is Jeremy LaPan, who has coached at both Sacramento State and the University of Utah. He replaces Taylor Walkenhorst, who took the Bonneville High School head coaching job after four seasons at PG.

LaPan took over in late February and has been busy organizing offseason workouts and selecting a coaching staff.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” LaPan said. “We’re kind of starting from scratch and everyone is used to doing things a certain way. We didn’t have a drone for shooting practice video so we had to buy one of those. I’m getting used to using ‘Huddle’ instead of the software I was using. I’m just trying find good volunteers who want to help and get really good people in the program.”

Walkenhorst’s high-water mark during his four-year tenure was in 2023, when a strong senior class led the Vikings to a 9-3 record. But PG was just 1-10 last season so LaPan will be starting his rebuilding job from square one.

“We’re going to try and find ways to make explosive plays on offense,” LaPan said. “And then we want to take care of the football. What separates a good offense from a great offense is getting out of bad plays. I’m big into running the football first, and from there open up the passing game.”

The Vikings went through a half-dozen quarterbacks last season, which included losing three in the first three games to injury. Junior Connor Ybarra has taken the lead so far at that position. Senior running back Donovan Delaney gives PG some speed and senior receiver Spencer Hafoka has all-state ability. On the defensive side, junior linebacker Derek Brinton has a big motor and senior Dexton Nutall will anchor the secondary. LaPan said he’s high on 6-foot-3, 240-pound freshman Desert Ale at defensive end.

The growing pains will be a real thing but the Vikings have escaped murderous Region 3, dropping down from Class 6A to Class 5A for 2025.

What’s the best way to motivate today’s high school athlete? “First and foremost, I want to make it all about the players,” LaPan said. “I want to let them do we’re going to do everything in our power so that they have an incredible high school experience. We spent $300 per kid on a Spirit Pack and we’re going to Splash Summit a couple of times. We want to make it fun and get the booster moms involved. We want to give the players the best resources so they know we’re here for them, as opposed to everything just being about the wins.”

-Darnell Dickson