Note: Hillcrest finished with an 0-9 overall record in 2018 and was fifth in Region 2 with a 0-4 record. It did not qualify for the 6A playoffs.
Hillcrest 2018 Offensive and Defensive Stats
MIDVALE — For the second year in a row and the fourth time in five years, the Hillcrest Huskies will have a new head coach this fall.
A longtime assistant coach at a number of schools in Utah, Brock Bryant is taking the opportunity he’s long wanted to be a head coach to a school and community he said he’s respected for many years.
“There’s been a lot of tradition here, and I just felt the time was right to come in here and help build up the culture and get a staff in here and get that culture going and build that foundation and get Hillcrest back to where they have been in the past,” he said.
To be sure, it’s been a long time since the Huskies had much success on the field. They went winless in 2018, won just one game in 2017, their last winning season was in 2003, and their last region championship was in 1984 (one of four straight).
In Bryant’s eyes, the quest to getting back to relevancy in the standings starts with building a strong program away from the field. To that end, he’s been working since he was hired to build relationships, to emphasize academics (he said many players’ grades went up at the end of last school year) and to promote team-building.
“Leadership is relationships,” he said. “I think with that change and also building relationships, eventually over time that will lead to success on the field.”
As for on the field in his first season, Bryant initially wants to see his players just give everything they have.
“We’re going to take one game at a time, and I just want these kids to compete, to believe in themselves,” he said. Right now we’re just focusing on (the season opener against) Bountiful. I just want the kids to go out and compete. Just compete, compete and I think the scoreboard and the wins will take care of themselves. Just one step at a time.”
Hillcrest Huskies at a glance
Coach: Brock Bryant is entering his first season as head coach of the Huskies and his first season as a head coach overall. He attended Skyline High School and the University of Utah.
Bryant’s comments on new UHSAA RPI:
“We’ll just have to see how it goes. I’ve talked to a lot of coaches that like it, that see the value in it. I’ve talked to coaches that don’t like it. ‘Oh, we’re going to the everyone gets a trophy kind of a thing.’ I think what it comes down to is we’ll just see how it goes.”
Hillcrest offensive snapshot
Offensive coordinator: Lee Chart
2018 offensive production: 6.6 ppg (23rd in 6A)
—Nine returning starters
—Power I offense
Returning offensive starters
Ryan Sharp QB
Cutler Smith RB
Talon Yates RB
Michael LaForett WR
Anthony Vail WR
Jason Barnes OL
Offensive newcomers to watch
Gavin Hawley TE
RC Tuitama FB
Jordan Hair OL
Bryant’s comments on quarterback Ryan Sharp:
“He had a great camp up in Idaho. He’s a great leader on the field, in the classroom. The kids follow him.”
Bryant’s comments on running back Cutler Smith:
“He wants to go to West Point. I’m supporting him 100% on that. He’s a hard worker and great kid ... he’s going to be the workhorse.”
Keys for offensive success in 2019:
“Our offense, it all starts up front with the hogs. It’s all about the hogs. We have some great skill kids here at Hillcrest. I’ll put them up against anyone in the state. We’re just lacking one or two linemen, but some kids are going to have to step up. I think if those kids step up in the positions we need to on the line, we’re going to be successful. We’re going to compete with teams every Friday night. It all starts up front with the hogs.”
Hillcrest defensive snapshot
Defensive coordinator: Matt Lewis
2018 defensive production: 44.1 ppg (23rd in 6A)
—Nine returning starters
—4-2-5 defense
Returning defensive starters
Cutler Smith DB
Michael LaForett DB
Anthony Vail DB
Talon Yates LB
Gavin Hawley DL
Jason Barnes DL
David Guerrero DL
Max Greenwood DL
Defensive newcomers to watch
Jordan Hair LB
RC Tuitama DL
Bryant’s comments on team depth:
“Our biggest concern is our depth. We can compete with our ones, but if someone goes down, we’ve got to have some kids step up.”
Bryant’s comments on conditioning:
“We have a chant here. I ask the kids, ‘Why do we condition?,’ and we condition to win. I want to be the best-conditioned team in the state. We’ve been conditioning the heck out of these kids, and a lot of these kids haven’t seen this before. It’s like, ‘Oh, this is football.’”
Keys for defensive success in 2019:
Health is the place to start in Bryant’s eyes with the lack of depth on that side of the ball. If his main starters can stay healthy, there’s some talent in all three position groups that should help the Huskies be competitive.
Bottom line
The Huskies always seem to move back and forth between the highest and second-highest classification in the state during each round of realignment. They’ll be moving down to 5A this season, which should help them after they were statistically the worst team on both sides of the ball in 2018. That being said, there’s obviously a long way to go for Bryant in his aim to build a more successful team on the field. Can he at least instill a good culture this season and can his team at least be more competitive in 2019? That would be a good start. Having a bunch of players back who have played at the varsity level should theoretically help with that, even if Hillcrest went winless a year ago.
Coaches preseason Region 6 straw poll: Sixth
Deseret News Region 6 prediction: Sixth
2019 Schedule
Aug. 16 — BOUNTIFUL, 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 — at Copper Hills, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 — at West Jordan, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6 — HIGHLAND, 7 p.m.
Sept. 13 — at Skyline, 7 p.m.
Sept. 20 — PROVIDENCE HALL, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 — at Murray, 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 — at Olympus, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 — BRIGHTON, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 — COTTONWOOD, 7 p.m.
….
Felts Facts for Hillcrest High School
All-time record: 228-322-8 (57 years)
Region championships: 7 (1966 co, 1968, 1975, 1980, 1981 co, 1983, 1984 co)
Playoff appearances: 22
Current playoff appearance streak: 1 (2016)
All-time playoff record: 10-22
State championships: 0
State championship record: 0-0
Most played rivalry: 42 meetings with Brighton dating back to 1969. Brighton leads 30-12. Last met in 2010.
Felt’s Factoid: Despite the proliferation of pass-happy offenses in recent years, Hillcrest still holds the school and individual (Brad Leggat) single-game passing yards record of 538 set in 2001.
...
Last 5
- 2018 — 0-9 (0-4 in Region 2 – Missed playoffs)
- 2017 — 1-9 (0-4 in Region 2 – Missed playoffs)
- 2016 — 3-7 (3-2 in Region 6 – 4A First round)
- 2015 — 2-9 (1-4 in Region 2 – Missed playoffs)
- 2014 — 5-7 (2-3 in Region 2 – 5A First round)
….
Hillcrest coaching history
- 2019 — Brock Bryant (0-0)
- 2018 — Ron Hill (0-9)
- 2016-2017 — Cazzie Brown (4-16)
- 2014-2015 — David Hastings (7-16)
- 2011-2013 — Casey Miller (7-23)
- 2005-2010 — Kirk Merhish (15-44)
- 2000-2004 — Bruce Takeno (29-33)
- 1993-1999 — Lee Leslie (34-34)
- 1986-1992 — Jerry Haslam (25-38)
- 1978-1985 — Jerry Simonson (49-33)
- 1975-1977 — Robert Burns (12-16)
- 1967-1974 — Raynor Pearce (44-32)
- 1964-1966 — Tom Lovat (11-14-3)
- 1962-1963 — Mickey Culletson (1-14-3)
.....
Deseret News First Team all-staters the past 10 years
- (None)
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.