Remember, it’s not about you…it’s about the mission and how best to accomplish it. With that attitude exemplified in you and your key leaders, your team will dominate.” – Jocko Willink

EXTREME OWNERSHIP

Get ready for a shallow dive into the upcoming Utah High School Football Season. It’ll be more like a dunk in-and-out than a dive.

What to expect:

• Preseason High School Football #1, Two Time Repeating 6A State Champion: Corner Canyon
• Top Football Talent in the Utah: ATH Salesi Moa
• Three Must Watch Games
  • one fun fact at the end

Hold your nose. We’re dunking

• The Corner Canyon Chargers repeated as state champs’ last season. The Chargers fell behind Lone Peak early but rallied and scored 23 unanswered points to win 30-27 this past November in the title game. Head Coach Eric Kjar now has five State Titles in eight seasons to go along with 100-8 record. High School Football Living Legend.

This year’s team will have to do without 4 top 35 recruits from last season.

• Wide Receiver Jerome Myles was the Number One football recruit in Utah in 2024. Texas A & M
• Tight End Jordan Vyborny #24 recruit: Oklahoma St
• Defensive Linemen Paxton Naegle #25 recruit: Utah St
• Interior O-lineman Zion Finau #35 Recruit: Weber St

Elite talent lost, but the Chargers have redundantly reloaded. A threepeat is more than possible. “High expectations” as Kjar said to Deseret News. This is a school that has produced special players like Utah Backup QB Isaac Wilson, his older brother Zach, and newly drafted to the NFL Jaxson Dart. This team knows winning and knows high expectations, but there will be others nipping at the Chargers heels this season.

There are some exciting games to look forward to, but first, let’s check in on the #1 player in the state.

• Another someone with ‘high expectations’ would Utah’s #1 football recruit coming into the 2025 season, Salesi Moa. 6’2″ 190lb ATH for Fremont up in Ogden. He’s the 4th highest ranked ATH in the Nation and #45 recruit overall.

He’s dubbed as a talent on both sides of the ball playing Wide Receiver and Free Safety. Greg Biggens, a National Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports writes that he “plays with a mean streak” on the defensive side of the ball and “wins jump balls and stretches the field” on offense.

Last season Moa caught 58 passes for 800 yards and 10 TD’s on offense and recorded 40 tackles and 2 interceptions, both for touchdowns, on defense. He’s certainly a player that seems like he could make an impact on both sides of the ball at the college level, but scouts “like him at receiver.”

Oh, and don’t mess with Moa’s dad Ben. He competes in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Also, a former Miami Dolphin and UFC fighter. “Mean Streak” makes sense.

247Sports has his top 5 Schools as Tennessee, Michigan, Utah, Washington, and Michigan St. Colorado offered July 24th, but as of right now, Moa is uncommitted.

Corner Canyon will travel to Fremont Week 3 and take on this future College Football Starter. Best of luck Moa.

It feels like 99 degrees across the valley right now. Find water and stay there.

Players and coaches all over the country are preparing for the season and enduring some sort of torridity or another. It feels like 113 in my hometown right now, where farm boys are pulled from hayfields to run-block for the one fast kid. Maybe you complete one or two passes, but HB Power on first and second down and triple option on 3rd down was how I remember it. At least, that’s how it used to be. Either way, those hayfields were hot then and are still hot now. It’s 111 in Brandon, MS. That might be relevant at the end.

For now, let’s get into some High School games that are worth mentioning and garnering much interest from me.

There is talent all over this state, but there are three schools that have a significant concentration of such talent, Orem, Lone Peak, and Corner Canyon, and three games early in this season where one can witness the players of the future.

The first of such games is Orem travelling to Lone Peak August 22. This game will feature 9 of the top 50 football recruits in Utah.

For Orem:

• ATH Kaue Akana- #7 player in the state, #25 at his position nationally. At 6’2″/ 200lbs, he’s a fearless tackler with elite instincts and closing speed as noted from his film clips. He plays both sides of the ball but 247Sports “likes him at linebacker.” Committed to BYU.
• DL Lopeti Moala- #12 in the state. 6’4″/ 250lb. A big kid with a big smile. Looks like he has fun dominating the line. reminds me of a Quinnen Williams type. Committed to BYU
• TE Kai Wesley- #13 in the state. 6’7″/ 235 lb. Committed to Baylor
• QB Tayden Kaawa- #16 in the state. 6’5″/ 235lbs. Committed to Alabama
• LB Isaac Vaea- #41 in the state. 6’2″/ 208lbs. Currently Uncommitted

For Lone Peak:

• OT Bott Mulitalo- #3 in the state, #12 OT in the nation. 6’5″/ 290lbs. Committed BYU
• WR Jaron Pula- #5 in the state. 6’2/185. Committed to Utah
• WR Kennan Pula- #8 in the state. 6’2 195. Committed to Utah
  • (The “Pula Twins” were committed to UCLA but recently switched to the Utes)
• QB Kepa Niumeitolu- 6’1/205. Committed to Idaho St.

Orem is the #1 5A school and Lone Peak is the #2 6A school according to the preseason rankings, so this game should be a good one for (4) quarters.

Game number two that is a ‘must watch’ in the Utah High School Football season has Corner Canyon hosting Liberty out of Peoria, ARI. Liberty is the preseason ranked #1 school in Arizona and #32 nationally. They themselves, like their host are back-to-back 6A state champs, and like their host, they are stacked with talent sporting 5 of the top 50 football recruits in Arizona.

Top Liberty PLayers:

• #12th Ranked Hudson Dunn. Linebacker. 6’1/210. Committed to Minnesota
• #14 Zach Thues. Safety. 5’11/185. Committed to Arizona St
• #33 Paz St. John. Defensive Line. 6’3/260. Committed to Boise St
• #41 Tyler Burnstein. Edge. 6’4/235. Committed to Washington St
• #48 TJ Fo’ilefutul. ATH. 6’1/230. Committed to Hawaii
  • Old School power Running Back at his best, but shows talent on both sides

Coming off their own two season dominate run, Corner Canyon is ranked the #1 team in Utah at the present and ranked 19th nationally and with their own list of top talented players. 6 of the top 43.

Top Corner Canyon Players:

• #4 Esun Tafa Interior O-Line. 6’4/305. #10 in the Nation at his position. Committed to USC
• #6 Helaman Casuga. QB. 6’1/220. #18 in Nation at position. Committed to Texas A&M
• #17 Kai Meza. WR. 6’0 185. Committed to Minnesota
• #34 Isaiah Morris. WR. 5’10/160. Uncommitted
• #36 Jase Kozlowski. DL. 6’5/230. Uncommitted
• #43 Mason Wood. LB. 6’2/215. Uncommitted

September 5th at 7Pm in Draper, these two top schools will compete.

The third and final game that has me intrigued is on September 19th at 7:00PM.

Corner Canyon will take on Lone Peak down south in American Fork. 10 of the top 43 football recruits in Utah will feature, not to mention, this will be a 2024 State Title rematch and preseason ranked #1 vs #2. This game should be intense.

That’s about it. The quick dunk into the Utah High School football first half of the season is complete. Grab a towel and shake the water from your ears. While you do that–remember Brandon, MS?

Brandon High in Mississippi features the #12 player in the Magnolia State. Defensive Back Preston Ashley. 5’10/170. He’s Colorado bound and I’ll be watching him close as he matures under Coach Sanders. From Brandon to Boulder, Mr. Ashley could be great.

Before closing, I came across the news moments ago that Coach Sanders has recently recovered from bladder surgery to remove a cancer. Scary stuff, but I’m inspired at his commitment to coach his squad through the trying time. Stay Well Coach Prime.

It will be fun to watch this Utah High School season unfold and I hope to make at least four games personally including these three listed.

So–Will Corner Canyon threepeat? Does Lone Peak get revenge? Where will #1 player in the state Salesi Moa play next season? Maybe I’ll start a weekly hit for Utah High School Football once the season begins. Maybe.

Until then, “it’s not about you…it’s about the mission.”

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.