High school football: Bonneville Lakers 2012 preview

"We're going to play our best players," Gladwell said. "They've been through the ringer with three head coaches in three years. We're telling them we want to see you go out and compete, and on Friday night the best players are going to play and it doesn't matter if you're a senior, junior or sophomore, we want you to go out and compete and play hard and be coachable and all those things."

Gladwell looks at the other teams in Region 5 and shudders.

"Every team in our region has really good players with really good coaches," he said. "It's a tough region. If we sat and talked about our region, it would be overwhelming.

"I'm coming from one tough region (Region 1) to another tough region. Here they run five wides and throw it all over the field. It's a different type of football in this region. You come from a region where you're winning games 6-3 and you come here to this region and you're winning games 45-40."

But when it comes to getting Bonneville's proud program back where it belongs, Gladwell will gladly take all the 45-40 wins he can get.

Bonneville Lakers at a glance

Coach: Tyler Gladwell begins his first season as Bonneville's head coach. It is the first head coaching job for the Bonneville High graduate.

Offense

(6 returning starters; Spread offense)

The versatile foursome of Colby Bedford, Andrew Croyle, Brock Kap and Jaydn Peck will carry much of the load, seeing playing time at various times at halfback, fullback, slotback, receiver and even at tight end. Wilson Atagi anchors the offensive line and is a solid leader of this senior-laden lineup.

Defense

(5 returning starters; Base 4-3 defense)

Zack Scott returns on the D-line, with Croyle and Kap back at linebacker and Peck, Joe Wickham and Tucker Redd in the secondary. With all that starting experience returning to the Lakers' lineup, their defense should be sound. Developing more depth, though, is vital since many of their players must go both ways.

Coaches preseason Region 5 straw poll: Sixth

Deseret News Region 5 prediction: Sixth

Bottom line: There's a new sheriff in town in Gladwell, and all of his deputies are former Laker players, too, who all recall very vividly how great this program once was. If they can get their kids to buy what they're selling, it could be a surprisingly strong season in Laker land. But with all of that firepower up in Cache Valley and rising expectations at traditional rival Roy, it will be difficult for Bonneville to climb very far up the league ladder right away. However, a favorable preseason schedule should help them build confidence, and the future looks bright for this proud program.

2012 Schedule

Aug. 17 at Ogden, 7 p.m.

Aug. 24 WOODS CROSS, 7 p.m.

Aug. 31 WEBER, 7 p.m.

Sept. 7 at Clearfield, 7 p.m.

Sept. 14 LOGAN, 7 p.m.

Sept. 21 MOUNTAIN CREST, 7 p.m.

Sept. 28 at Roy, 7 p.m.

Oct. 5 BOX ELDER, 7 p.m.

Oct. 12 at Sky View, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Murray, 7 p.m.

email: rhollis@desnews.com

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Felts Facts for Bonneville High School

All-time record: 339-201-1 (52 years)

Region championships: 18 (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978 co, 1980 co, 1981, 1985 co, 1986, 1988, 1989 co, 1991 co, 1992 co, 1995, 1996 co, 1997, 1999 co, 2002)

Playoff appearances: 36

All-time playoff record: 36-35

State championships: 1 (1980)