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BEAR RIVER BEARS

THE HURRY-UP

Bear River finished 5-7 overall, 3-3 in league play, and lost to Desert Hills, 56-13, in the quarterfinals in 2014.

OFFENSE

It's difficult to label Bear River's plethora of skill players as a "problem." It's more so a task of schematics, of figuring out how to divide touches between numerous athletes fighting for positions, all of whom deserving playing time. The Bears will primarily operate from their pistol formation, with Triston Merrit at quarterback and Gage Kaneko at H-back, but rotate systems between split-back and offset-I sets to take advantage of looks from both under center and shotgun.

"You hate to go between two different systems," said Bear River coach Chris Wise. "That will be the challenge, is going back and forth and getting the ball to [playmakers]. We got to get the ball to the athletes. That's basic. However we have to do it, we'll do it."

Bridger Beus will be the Swiss army knife after helping establish Bear River as one of the top passing offenses in the 3AA classification with 48 receptions for 553 yards and seven touchdowns.

"He's never going to come off the field. If I could let him long snap to himself, I would," Wise said of Beus. "I don't want to overwhelm him. He's still a kid, but he's one kid we can put a lot of baggage on his shoulders and he can handle it."

Ben Navejas and Griffin Southern headline an offensive line, which could prove to be the strength this season, with four senior starters.

DEFENSE

"Yikes," appears to be the descriptor for the 2014 Bears defense, which coughed up 31.3 points per game — one of the worst in Class 3AA. That has to change if Bear River expects to return to its championship history. The depth this season should conceivably improve the dark side.

"They love to play defense here. We don't have the numbers overall, but we do have a lot of quality kids — maybe 2-3 deep at positions," Wise explained. "We should be OK."

Josh Madsen showcased his abilities at several offseason camps after totaling 76 tackles during his sophomore season. His ability to start on the defensive line at 6-foot-1 and 232 pounds tidies up an area of concern.

"We always have here at Bear River an abundance of linebackers and not as many defensive lineman," Wise said.

With Madsen manning the tip of the defense, Bryken Jensen, Wade Detwiler, Gunner Sorensen and Easton Payne should benefit from plays funneling into the strong linebacking corps.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Bears won three title in four years between 2003 and 2006. Wise said his program is returning to the three yards and cloud of dust philosophy that propelled that nearly decade-old streak. Bridger Beus will emerge as a special athlete with first-team all-state potential, and the Bears will contend for another postseason appearance but not another title.

BIG SHOES

Bridger Beus will inherit the responsibilities of Cole Fronk, who graduated after leading the Bears with 59 receptions for 1,039 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2014. "He caught slant after slant after slant, and bailed us out of a lot of crappy situations," Wise said.

PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH IN REGION: 5

RETURNING LEADERS

Passing: Bridger Beus (Sr.), 7-14-118-1, 1 TD

Rushing: Gage Kaneko (Jr.), 124 att., 604 yds., 3 TDs

Receiving: Bridger Beus, 48 rec., 553 yds., 7 TDs

Tackles: Josh Madsen (Jr.), 76

Sacks: Garrett Byington (So.), 6

Interceptions: Bridger Beus, 3

2014 RANKINGS

OFFENSE AVERAGE REGION (of 7) CLASS (of 13)

Scoring: 23.5ppg 5 8

Rushing: 101.3ypg 6 10

Passing:  207.5ypg 2 3

Total: 308.8ypg 5 9

DEFENSE

Scoring: 31.3ppg 5 11

Rushing: 190.3ypg 4 8

Passing: 146.1ypg 6 8

Total: 336.4ypg 4 7

COACHING BIO

Name: Chris Wise

Years with school: 13

Alma mater: Bear River

PROJECTED STARTERS

OFFENSE

QB: Triston Merrit (5-10, 151, Sr.)

RB: Gage Kaneko (5-7, 162, Jr.)

WR: Bridger Beus (6-1, 188, Sr.)

WR: Gunner Sorensen (5-11, 171, Jr.)

WR: Rilee Summers (5-7, 159, Jr.)

WR: Mark McGary (5-11, 176, Sr.)

LT: Dalton Marsh (6-0, 215, Jr.)

LG: Langston Petty (6-1, 231, Sr.)

C: Victor Gonzalez (6-0, 234, Sr.)

RG: Griffin Southern (6-0, 174, Sr.)

RT: Ben Navejas (6-1, 271, Sr.)

DEFENSE

DE: Ben Navejas (6-1, 271, Sr.)

NG: Josh Madsen (6-1, 232, Jr.)

DE: Jordan Watson (6-0, 199, Jr.)

LB: Bryken Jensen (5-11, 164, Jr.)

LB: Wade Detwiler (5-10, 221, Sr.)

LB: Gunner Sorensen (5-11, 171, Jr.)

LB: Easton Payne (So.)

DB: Mark McGary (5-11, 176, Sr.)

DB: Tyson Gregory (5-8, 137, Jr.)

SS: Bridger Beus (6-1, 188, Sr.)

FS: Triston Merrit (5-10, 151, Sr.)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Bridger Beus (6-1, 188, Sr.)

P: Bridger Beus (6-1, 188, Sr.)

KR: Gage Kaneko (5-7, 162, Jr.)

PR: Bracken Stokes (5-5, 153, Jr.)

2015 SCHEDULE

Date, opponent, time (2014 result)

Aug. 21, at Morgan, 7 p.m.

Aug. 28, Mountain Crest, 7 p.m. (Lost, 35-14)

Sept. 4, at Box Elder, 7 p.m. (Lost, 34-25)

Sept. 11, Grantsville, 7 p.m.

Sept. 18, at Park City, 7 p.m. (Won, 43-13)

Sept. 25, at Ben Lomond, 7 p.m. (Won, 33-22)

Oct. 2, Logan, 7 p.m. (Lost, 42-16)

Oct. 8, at Tooele, 7 p.m. (Lost, 38-15)

Oct. 14, Judge Memorial, 7 p.m.

Oct. 23, Stansbury, 7 p.m. (Lost, 62-41)