Grantsville Cowboys
On Aug. 6, the Deseret News published a preview on the Grantsville football team. Here is a look at what was
written by reporter James Edward.
With 18 starters are back for the Grantsville Cowboys this year, it's easy to see why coach Tony Cloward is so
confident and optimistic about the upcoming season.
"We put all our eggs in one basket for this year. We've been preparing for this year, so hopefully it pans out for
us," said Cloward, now in his fourth year at his alma mater.
Despite playing in what should be a much-improved Region 11 this year, the Cowboys appear to be good
enough on offense and defense to make a run at the league title.
It all starts with experience.
Defensively, Grantsville struggled quite a bit last year.
"The youth really killed us defensively. I think we ran too complex of a scheme. Being inexperienced, it was
like they were guessing their responsibility all the time. This year we return them all, so we should be equally
as good as we're going to be offensively," said Cloward.
Austin Gumucio, the leading tackler a year ago, will anchor what should be a solid linebacking core. He'll be
joined by Riley Bowman and cousins Kort and Ky Fonger. Max Bleazard, a starter since his sophomore year,
is the heart of the defensive line at tackle.
The strength of the team should still be on offense, and it's because of the offseason development of Forrest
Stephenson, who backed up Logan Paulich last year.
"He might be as good if not better than Paulich," said Cloward. "I may go as bold and say he even might
compete with (Logan's Jeff) Manning for the best quarterback in the league. They're a different type of player,
but I'm really that high on him just because of his summer."
Stephenson's really taken to running the spread offense, and throws even better when he's on the run.
He's got numerous weapons at his disposal, including Grantsville's version of Reggie Bush. Alex Childs led
the Cowboys in rushing (700) and receiving yards (400) last year despite playing on a team that ran the more
conservative Wing-T offense last year.
Cloward used the Wing-T early last year in an effort to shorten the game for his younger team. It worked in
terms of time of possession, but not on the scoreboard. His defense was so bad they gave up a lot of quick
scores, and his methodical offense never had an answer.
"Finally, we said we're young, we may as well get these kids experience, so we widened out and started
throwing the ball the last five games. That's kind of where we're at. We went to a spread like everyone else,"
said Cloward.
Childs isn't the only athlete in the receiving corps, though. Benji Cole is an outstanding possession receiver,
while Arizona move-in Dax Buckley is very smart, having played quarterback at his previous high school.
Gumucio will also play some receiver, while Bowman will start at fullback.
With a solid offensive line in front of them, Grantsville should be able to improve on its 3-8 record last year.
On Aug. 6, the Deseret News published a preview on the Grantsville football team. Here is a look at what was
written by reporter James Edward.
With 18 starters are back for the Grantsville Cowboys this year, it's easy to see why coach Tony Cloward is so
confident and optimistic about the upcoming season.
"We put all our eggs in one basket for this year. We've been preparing for this year, so hopefully it pans out for
us," said Cloward, now in his fourth year at his alma mater.
Despite playing in what should be a much-improved Region 11 this year, the Cowboys appear to be good
enough on offense and defense to make a run at the league title.
It all starts with experience.
Defensively, Grantsville struggled quite a bit last year.
"The youth really killed us defensively. I think we ran too complex of a scheme. Being inexperienced, it was
like they were guessing their responsibility all the time. This year we return them all, so we should be equally
as good as we're going to be offensively," said Cloward.
Austin Gumucio, the leading tackler a year ago, will anchor what should be a solid linebacking core. He'll be
joined by Riley Bowman and cousins Kort and Ky Fonger. Max Bleazard, a starter since his sophomore year,
is the heart of the defensive line at tackle.
The strength of the team should still be on offense, and it's because of the offseason development of Forrest
Stephenson, who backed up Logan Paulich last year.
"He might be as good if not better than Paulich," said Cloward. "I may go as bold and say he even might
compete with (Logan's Jeff) Manning for the best quarterback in the league. They're a different type of player,
but I'm really that high on him just because of his summer."
Stephenson's really taken to running the spread offense, and throws even better when he's on the run.
He's got numerous weapons at his disposal, including Grantsville's version of Reggie Bush. Alex Childs led
the Cowboys in rushing (700) and receiving yards (400) last year despite playing on a team that ran the more
conservative Wing-T offense last year.
Cloward used the Wing-T early last year in an effort to shorten the game for his younger team. It worked in
terms of time of possession, but not on the scoreboard. His defense was so bad they gave up a lot of quick
scores, and his methodical offense never had an answer.
"Finally, we said we're young, we may as well get these kids experience, so we widened out and started
throwing the ball the last five games. That's kind of where we're at. We went to a spread like everyone else,"
said Cloward.
Childs isn't the only athlete in the receiving corps, though. Benji Cole is an outstanding possession receiver,
while Arizona move-in Dax Buckley is very smart, having played quarterback at his previous high school.
Gumucio will also play some receiver, while Bowman will start at fullback.
With a solid offensive line in front of them, Grantsville should be able to improve on its 3-8 record last year.
MatchupUT.com Phone: (801) 520-4330 Email: Bruce@matchupUT.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |