Near-perfect year for Layton football

LAYTON — Aside from the way it ended, everything about the 2007 football season played out perfectly for the Layton Lancers. After years of enduring gridiron mediocrity, the pieces finally fell into place for a memorable season.

Layton won the Region 1 title and advanced to its first state championship game in three decades before finally succumbing to Alta 17-9 in the 5A final.

Of all the teams Lancers coach Jim Batchelor has coached, this was one of his favorites. He has been around few teams where the players trusted one another and played together as well as this group did all season.

"There was just a great team chemistry," Batchelor said. "A lot of times, you can go through years where going to practice is just drudgery. I don't know that we had many days like that because of the great attitudes that the kids had."

Optimism for the new season began building after this year's Lancer senior class fought its way into the 5A playoffs as juniors. They needed to win a play-in game to earn the final seed out of Region 1. But just reaching that point convinced them greater success could be had.

And it wasn't like winning football was a foreign concept either. Many of the Layton seniors had gone undefeated as sophomores and won frequently in little league.

Going through a season in which they were a play or two away from earning several more wins left the Lancers wanting more.

"It made them very hungry," Batchelor said. "And it gave them a pretty good understanding of what they needed to do to be successful at the varsity level."

One factor helping Layton transform into a contender this season was its defense.

Senior Chad Willson emerged as one the best tacklers in 5A with a team-best 107 tackles. Karl Williams, a junior, finished up among the top 12 in 5A for quarterback sacks, with a team-high seven sacks.

The Lancers also boasted the stingiest scoring defense in 5A, allowing only 10.21 points per game. Layton pitched three shutouts — culminating in a 49-0 rout of Skyline in the 5A quarterfinal round that ended the Eagles state record 262 game scoring streak.

"Our main goal was to keep people out of the end zone," Batchelor said. "If someone gets 400 or 500 yards a game, as long they score only seven or eight points — I'm OK with that."

On offense, Layton was formidable. The Lancers enjoyed great depth at running back, a strong offensive line and were led by an experienced quarterback in Gavin Green.

Green enjoyed one of his finest seasons under center. In 14 games, the senior passed for 2,070 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 56 percent of his throws. Many stars from their playoff run — like Willson, Green, James Adams, Tyler Christensen and Matt Putnam — graduate in the spring. But some, led by Williams and junior running back LaVaughn Jackson, will return next season to build on what they accomplished during this one.

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E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com