Hillcrest had 22 players walk off the team last season, due to discrepancies between the players and coach Kirk Mehrish, and have yet to completely get back on solid ground. The Huskies started Region 2 play 0-2 and are 2-5 overall.

The complete overhaul of the football program is still obvious in their record, but Mehrish is still focused on not fixing this season.

"There's still some lingering effects. Obviously we took several steps back, but we're still trying to recover as a team, as a program and as a school," said Mehrish. "We really don't dwell on it that much."

One of this year's returning seniors who had one of the toughest times with the walk-off was starting quarterback Kolby Koplin. Koplin had a cousin, Nate Thompson, who chose to leave and pressured him to follow suit, but Koplin chose to stick it out.

Koplin has had some sour luck of late, sitting out since last week and likely this week because of an ankle injury, but he can still feel the unification today in his teammates' camaraderie.

"It was kind of a heartbreaker," said Koplin. "The team worked through some trials and stuff but we gained a lot of experience for this year. We're more of a brotherhood, as a tight, united team."

With the loss of players, Mehrish is given the luxury of only dealing with players that are truly committed to football, and the attitude that reflects that.

"We certainly have a much better attitude. We have kids that come to practice and practice hard that want to be there," said Mehrish. "They're, for the most part, on board and supportive to what we're doing instead of being worried about their selfish needs. They're team players. The reality of it is that we've run into some teams that were better then us on Friday night."

The season started well, with the Huskies jumping out of the gates 2-0 with wins against Murray and Olympus. Since then, they've gone on a five-game skid and their defense is allowing an average of 38 points a game.

Granted, they've faced stiff competition like West Jordan, Riverton and Skyline, who have a combined win percentage of .666, but the effect of the loss is still blatant in Merish's play calling.

"You know it's tough," said Mehrish. "The reality of it is that with our thin numbers, there's really not a lot of personnel changes I can make to try to mix it up."

Since region play started, the Huskies have been especially thin. They've started 0-2, giving up 90 points against Skyline and Jordan.

Tonight, they will face defending state champion Alta, and Mehrish knows it will not be a cakewalk.

"We hope that going into playing the No. 1 in state in Alta, I hope my kids can get excited and come out playing, even though they are a little down dropping five in a row."

Hillcrest at a glance

* The Hillcrest football team is working on rebuilding after a rough season in 2007.

* Twenty-two players walked off the team in 2007.

* The Huskies are 2-5 overall this year.