ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
The construction at Emery High will not be the only new thing for the Spartans as they return to the gridiron. By the end of the season, Emery will have opened a new field, playing in a new region and classification full of a number of new faces.
As outlined at the end of 2020, Emery has moved into one of the two new regions within 2A football. “It will be good for us,” said head coach Jon Faimalo when talking about the new alignments. “The level of competition will fit where we are at. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Spartans will be part of the North Region, which will include American Leadership Academy, Judge Memorial, Providence Hall, South Summit and Summit Academy. “There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to our region,” mentioned Faimalo.
He went on to say that although the Spartans have played several of those teams in the past, every year is different. South Summit and Summit Academy will be among the teams competing for a region title. Faimalo believes his group will be in the thick of it.
“We are capable if we put it together,” stated Faimalo. Those teams will also be at the top at the state level along with Beaver, Delta and San Juan. Faimalo expects to “be in the mix.”
Although there are a lot of changes externally for the black and gold squad, the internal group will have some consistency. The Spartans will bolster a lineup with 18 seniors, a number of which are returning starters. All of the skill position players will be back, including Ryker Jensen under center, Jace Curtis in the backfield, and Josh Olsen and Jace Mangum spread out wide.
Defensively, Hayes Dalton will be back to terrorize opposing offenses along with Maddox Christman. There will be one adjustment, however, when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. The Spartans are coming out of camp with a 3-4 defense as opposed to a 4-3. This will allow outside linebackers to be more involved in blitz packages.
With all the unknowns along with the novelty of the season, Faimalo is focused on maintaining the same approach. “We are going to take things one week at a time,” concluded Faimalo. “As the season progresses, we hope to improve. We want to be firing on all cylinders come region.”