Jordan football sees winning season

SANDY — A lot of good things happened in Jordan football this year.

One bad thing happened: Quarterback Sean Taylor went down with an ankle injury during the playoffs. "If Sean doesn't break his ankle, we're playing Bingham in the championship game," said coach Alex Jacobsen.

Jacobsen's bravado reflects his aggressive personality and the style of play he ingrained into his players. "We have great kids that bought into what we were trying to do," he said. "They bought into our philosophy, our aggressive style."

That they did. Going for two points against Skyline was an aggressive call that resulted in a one point victory. Another good thing was traveling back to Georgia and defeating perennial power Valdosta 21-13.

Other positives were Taylor and Cody Raymond standing at or near the top of the statewide list of several passing and receiving statistical categories.

A young, untested offensive line came through and provided the protection that permitted Taylor and Raymond to reach those dazzling numbers.

The list goes on and on. Winding up at 8-3 for the season, the Beetdiggers can claim this as a successful season even though most coaches are rarely satisfied with anything short of a state championship. Jacobsen stayed with his aggressive nature: "We didn't second-guess ourselves all year long. We played every game to win. We have no regrets whatsoever. We stuck with our philosophy."

Maybe his approach is partly determined by Jordan's relatively fewer numbers compared to schools such as Alta and Bingham. "We didn't have a lot of depth," said Jacobsen. "But we pretty much stayed healthy throughout the regular season."

Graduating seniors who will need to be replaced next year include Taylor at quarterback, Ken Damron and Scotty Ebert at receiver, Laramie White and Brad Godinet on the offensive line. Houston Cassita will be missed at running back although he was missed in a number of games this season trying to stay eligible. "It hurt not having Cassita in the backfield," said Jacobsen. "He is a great talent that we were not able to tap into."

Jared Tillby, a big tight end, moves on also. Wide receivers Raymond and Darren Carter will return. The quarterback spot will be wide open. "We are going to give every kid in the program a chance at quarterback," said Jacobsen. Chaun Cook is the JV quarterback who may have a leg up in the competition.