Hillcrest football starts season with new coach, new region

When it was announced last year that Hillcrest would drop down to 4A at the start of the 2011/2012 school year, many in the school and community breathed a sigh of relief. Words like “easier,” “smaller,” and “more competitive” could be heard when talking about the change for Hillcrest’s athletic teams. Although the change means Hillcrest will now be competing against school’s the same size, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be easier, said new football coach Casey Miller.

“We’ve heard a lot of the parents say they are excited about the change and that it’s going to be easier for Hillcrest to compete,” he said. “The coaching staff worries that the kids are a little complacent and have this expectation that the new region is going to be easy, which it won’t. That’s what we’re working on now.”

Miller took over Hillcrest’s football program after longtime coach Kirk Merhish retired earlier this year. Tryouts were held the first week in August in preparation for the opening home game on Aug. 19, against Riverton. The Huskies will have four pre-season games to work out the kinks before it starts region play on Sept. 16, against Herriman.

While the drop to 4A isn’t a guaranteed pass to a state title, it will give the Huskies the chance to compete against schools that are similar in size. Miller said Hillcrest has competed against teams that had more than double the players than Hillcrest. That meant the opposing teams had fresh players for the offense and defense unlike most of Hillcrest’s players, who filled slots on both sides.

“In a game situation, if we lost three players and the other team lost three, it could mean the game for us, but for the other team it had less of an impact,” Miller said. “Competing against schools with the same size roster makes the games more balanced.”

One of the biggest obstacles Miller said he’s trying to help his team overcome is the feeling they can compete against big schools and can win. Hillcrest participated in the Midnight Madness tournament this summer and took third place. Against other schools, Hillcrest did well and won. But Miller said that confidence faded when they challenged Alta.

“We have a good football team when we decide we are a good team,” he said. “When we played teams we didn’t expect to lose to, it gave the boys the boost of confidence they needed to win. That’s what we need to have in every game.”

This year’s team is very senior heavy and will feature senior quarterback Tanner Dastrup and running back Kyle Gashler. While most of the seniors have experience on the field, not all of them are returning starters. Miller said his team is looking good and he feels confident they will be ready for the first test against Riverton.

“It’s good to have the experienced kids but also good for some of the kids without much experience to learn the new offense and defense,” he said.