High School Football: Proud Skyline football program wants to get back to old, dominating ways

All streaks come to an end eventually. Even if they could not admit it privately or publicly, players and coaches at Skyline understood the state-record scoring streak would one day stop.

The 23 year-old streak did finally met its end last fall — in the 5A quarterfinals against Layton. But how it ended did not sit well with the Eagles afterward.

A 49-0 loss to the Lancers felt like a humiliating end to an uneven season and called into questions whether Skyline's era of dominance was truly over.

"It was tough on us," fullback Algernon Brown said. "We really thought we were going to go really far."

Now as the Eagles embark upon writing a new chapter in their football program, they are determined to make it read much like the ones written before.

It all starts with reclaiming Region 2 supremacy and ends with putting themselves in contention for a state title. The Eagles own enough talent and experience on both sides of the ball to make life difficult for other teams. Twelve starters return on offense and defense.

Prominent among returning playmakers is Brown. He had limited carries while sharing the backfield with Kalama Molisi a year ago, but still rushed for 360 yards and seven touchdowns on only 47 carries n good enough for an impressive 7.7 yards per carry.

With Molisi graduated, Brown is expected to get the bulk of the carries in Skyline's option offense. He has gotten bigger, faster and stronger in the offseason, which has teammates believing he'll have little trouble moving the Eagles downfield.

"He's going to take a lot of work off of me," senior quarterback Kevin Wagstaff said. "You can always count on him to get a couple of yards at least."

Wagstaff will be counted on to play a major part in the offense as well. Although this is first year behind center with the varsity team, Wagstaff has plenty of experience when it comes to directing an offense. He has been the starting point guard for the Skyline boys' basketball team over the past couple of seasons.

Those skills, which he honed on the basketball court, should also come into play on the football field.

"He's got a lot of poise and a lot of smarts, so I think he's going to do really well," Eagles coach Roger DuPaix said.

Patience may be in order for Skyline and its fans through the early part of the season. The schedule does the Eagles no favors with non-region games against Highland, Bingham, East, American Fork and Kearns n all of whom were playoff teams a year ago.