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SOUTH SUMMIT WILDCATS

The Hurry-up — South Summit finished 11-1 overall, 5-0 in 2A North, and lost to Beaver in the 2A state championship game.

The Wildcats had one heck of a winning streak a year ago, but 11 straight victories only feels completely right when the last win is on state championship day. As it turned out, South Summit's last encounter on the field was a 33-0 loss to Beaver in the 2A title game.

Now, new coach Mike Grajek will lead the 'Cats after a year as an assistant.

Grajek has been an assistant coach for many years now, mostly in Mesquite, Nev., but he has a history as a head coach in Utah — and a good one.

Grajek coached Milford to the 1A state championship in 1993 and was the head man at Morgan from 1994 to 1996.

"I'm excited. I was able to be an assistant for a lot of great coaches," said Grajek who was in Mesquite for 15 years before moving to Gunnison in 2012 for another assistant job.

In South Summit, he's got a squad with only a couple of players who saw regular varsity playing time in 2015. But Grajek isn't too worried.

"They do a great job of reloading, rather than rebuilding," he said.

Quarterbacks — In South Summit's attack, senior Nick Beasley already has a year under his belt of making the decisions from the quarterback position. While running is generally option No. 1, "We worked in the offseason on throwing the ball if we need to," Grajek said. Look for Grajek's son Parker to serve as the backup if something should happen to Beasley.

Running backs — Since last year's varsity was loaded with seniors and little space for younger players on the field, Grajek refers to many of this year's team as "JV All-Stars" a year ago. Senior running back Ty Thornton only had one carry his junior season, while Riley Bayless, now a junior, got the ball twice in 2015. Look for Thornton, Bayless and senior Wilder Thompson to get the majority of carries this season.

Receivers — Perhaps the most experience on the field for the Wildcats will be at receiver, with senior Brandon Dansie (5-10, 165) and junior Parker Grajek (6-3, 185). Junior Keegan Stracher will also play in one of the wing positions — akin to a slot receiver but closer to the line — in Mike Grajek's spread triple-option formation.

Offensive linemen — Broughton Flygare wasn't a full-time starter in '15, but he did get in some time on the varsity at offensive tackle. He'll be the most experienced for this current group in the trenches, which will include senior Brady Howard (5-11, 220) — a center for the junior varsity last year — as well as senior Mark Whitmore, junior Gordon Hermansen and junior Wyatt McNeil.

Defensive linemen — Look for junior Porter Fox to hold steady at one of the defensive tackle positions while senior Jace Atkinson is expected to occupy the other. Flygare, meanwhile, will start at one defensive end while a trio of juniors — Michael Blazzard, Cole Stubbs and Jackson Ayers — will vie for the other DE position.

Linebackers — Blazzard, Stubbs and Ayers will also be the primary candidates for outside linebacker in South Summit's 4-4-3 defensive scheme, while junior Cole Reidhead (5-7, 150) will likely get the nod at the other OLB slot. The inside spots aren't settled either, but Grajek expects that junior Jaxon Sargent (5-10, 190) will be one of the starters in the middle.

Defensive backs — Dansie brings some experience to the secondary, and he'll likely start at one cornerback position. The other is probably going to be either junior Cole Georgi (5-8, 150) or fellow junior Jackson Lassche (6-0, 140). The defensive backfield shapes up to be the youngest unit on the field, as two more juniors — Braxton Crystal and Dalton Santos — will vie for the safety spot.

Key Players

Nick Beasley, QB — Beasley (6-2, 170) passed for 856 yards and rushed for 498 yards more as the Wildcats' signal-caller during his junior year.

Broughton Flygare, OT/DE — A state wrestling champion, the 6-1, 205-pound Flygare should be a mainstay on both lines.

Brandon Dansie, WR/CB — Dansie saw somewhat limited action last year, but did get into nine games — including time as the team's punter.

Key Losses

Isaac Tillett, RB/LB — Tillet rushed for over 1,200 yards in 2015, and defensively made 41 stops from his linebacker spot.

Porter Fitzgerald, DT — It's pretty hard to replace a guy that was in on 124 tackles in one season.

Jared Blazzard, OL/DT — Blazzard was also a mainstay for the Wildcats' lines, as he recorded 64 tackles defensively.

Name To Know: Parker Grajek led the team in receptions in 2015 and, besides time at wide receiver, may eventually be seen in the backfield and possibly even in the defensive secondary at times.

Name To Know:

Aug. 19 — San Juan, 5:30 p.m. (Won, 26-7, in 2015)

Aug. 26 — at Morgan, 7 p.m. (Won 14-7)

Sept. 2 — Park City, 7 p.m. (Won 27-24)

Sept. 9 — at South Sevier, 7 p.m. (Won 54-0)

Sept. 16 — American Leadership, 7 p.m. (Won 52-9)

Sept. 23 — Gunnison Valley, 7 p.m. (Won 55-7)

Sept. 30 — at Summit Academy, 7 p.m. (Won 49-21)

Oct. 7 — Millard, 7 p.m. (Won 37-3)

Oct. 14 — at North Summit, 7 p.m. (Won 17-7)

Verdict: Getting off to another 11-0 start might be a little too much of an expectation for a South Summit group that's a bit younger that usual, but the Wildcats should contend for region and state honors by the end.

Projected finish in region: Second