High school football: Union in a better position to contend

Note: Union finished with a 2-8 overall record in 2009 and a 2-2 record in Region 10. It lost to Cedar, 46-0, in the 3A first round.

ROOSEVELT — Last year was a difficult one for the Union Cougars.

Just one full-time starter returned on offense and only three full-time starters returned on defense; several players couldn't get out on the field because of injuries, academics and other things; and, in general, it was a battle from start to finish.

Flash forward to the present, though, and the lumps Union endured a season ago could now reap serious benefits.

Because there were only a handful of returners last year — and because others were missing — a bevy of underclassmen got significant experience at the varsity level.

A season later, those former underclassmen are back and are joined by several of the guys who couldn't get on the field in 2009 for one reason or another.

With all those guys in tote, it's reasonable to believe that Union could be poised to do what it's done on multiple occasions over the past decade — challenge for the Region 10 championship.

It certainly won't be easy — not with perennial powerhouses Wasatch and Park City expecting to jostle with one another for the title — but Union should be in a much better position to contend this fall than it was last fall.

"We played a lot of younger kids last year, and they got a lot of experience," said Union coach Sam Elliott. "We're definitely a little more savvy — the kids are a little more game savvy — the kids are a little more confident. I think that helps a lot — the experience goes a long way in high school. We should be able to see that from last year to this year.

"We're definitely better off because of that, but you still gotta play the games."

Elliott's players also need to come together — much more so than they have up to this point, according to the third-year Union coach.

"We've got a lot of chiefs and not many Indians right now," he said. "Some of the kids are gonna have to learn to become Indians and take on roles, and some kids are gonna learn how to be the chiefs and step up and maybe take a bigger role.

"Unity and how we come together is the No. 1 key, and then the No. 2 key is how hard the kids work."