High School Football: Hunter's new coach brings new attitude

WEST VALLEY CITY — Some things may have drastically changed and will continue to change inside of Hunter High's football program, but first-year coach Dustin Pearce hopes that other things will remain the same.

Inasmuch as Pearce has made several significant changes to the way Hunter's program is run, he hopes the final on-the-field product will look eerily similar to what the rest the state has come to expect from the Wolverines: He wants them to be tough, he wants them to be bruising, and he wants them to continue to play the smash-mouth football that has made Hunter so good over the years.

"There will be new things," said Pearce, "but we will be physical. We won't be worn out in the fourth quarter. We will finish things."

On offense, that means that Hunter will continue to employ its bruising rushing attack behind a powerful offensive line.

"For me to come in and run something different would be silly because that offense fits the mentality of these kids," said Pearce.

A Hunter alum who most recently spent three years as a full-time assistant coach at Southern Utah University, Pearce inherits a team that started out 0-5 before limping to a 4-8 overall record a season ago.

However, it doesn't take Columbo to figure out that he also inherits one of the state's top football programs. Hunter High, under the direction of departed coach Wes Wilcken, enjoyed tremendous success up until last year's disappointing season, and Pearce inherits a talented bunch of players with which to work with.

And without question, it all starts with senior star Ryan Mulitalo.

The story of Mulitalo, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman, has been pretty well documented.

His mother, Tioata Purcell Mulitalo, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on July 5th, leaving Mulitalo and his family devastated. However, just two weeks later, one of Tioata's biggest dreams came true when her son was offered — and accepted — a scholarship offer to play football at BYU.

With his remaining family surrounding him and with thoughts of his mother consuming his mind, Mulitalo said he got pretty emotional as he read the official offer from Bronco Mendenhall inside the BYU coach's office.

"To have that letter, I guess it's proof to show that I've made it — that a person like me can make it anywhere," he said.