Ridgeline ready to roll in 2018 football season

Ridgeline turned some heads towards the end of the 2017 season.

If 2018 goes as planned, they’ll keep that momentum rolling forward.

After a lackluster start, the Riverhawks won three of their last four regular season contests before winning a pair of playoff games on the road. The run came to an end with a 38-7 loss to Stansbury in the 4A state quarterfinals.

Now, with 13 total starters returning, the Riverhawks intend to establish themselves as a force in the 4A classification. They’ll rely on a solid amount of returning talent at the skill positions to establish themselves in what should be a balanced Region 12.

Every region game will matter,” Howell said. “Every game will count. In order for us to do well, we have to take care of business and we have to stay healthy.”

Should they manage to stay healthy, the Riverhawks are primed to possibly take themselves even deeper into the playoffs this year.

Amongst the breadth of returning players is Micah White, who has the talent to do damage on offense with his pass-catching and rushing abilities. White will likely get the bulk of carries at the running back spot, and he has a lot of talent and experience joining them, too. Michael Tuckett and Mason Bowler will both get touches in 2018 after carrying the rock last year.

The Hawks also return their quarterback, Breck Jackson. The tall and strong-armed senior started the season under center in 2017 before going down with an injury midway through the year. Jackson has made strides in the offseason, and his mastery of Howell’s playbook will let him take full advantage of the weapons around him. Jackson’s size and familiarity with the position and program make him a candidate to be one of the more consistent quarterbacks in Region 12.

Breck Jackson has had a tremendous offseason,” Howell said. “He has worked really hard in the weight room. He’s really intelligent and he knows our offense inside and out. He can get guys in the right spot when we need him to. He has great arm strength and has worked really hard to become a leader.”

Up front, the Riverhawks have an experienced offensive line. They will be led by Trevor Hobbs, who is in his third season as a two-way starter. Hobbs is an extremely quick and athletic offensive lineman, and he will also see a significant amount of time at defensive end. The senior racked up 23 tackles in 2017.

Joining Hobbs on the offensive line are returning starters Andrew Hugie and Conner Dahlke. Coach Howell and his staff are hoping to fill the remaining two spots with a rotating group of five players, at least early in the season.

“There are four or five kids that we’re looking at right now to fill those last two spots,” Howell said. “That’s essentially what the preseason is for – to figure out who the best five are and for our offensive line to really come together.”

Defensively, Coach Howell’s team is strongest at the linebacker and safety positions. Both safeties are back, in White and Junior Damuni. Damuni recorded 16 tackles last year, and will anchor the defensive backs alongside Parker, who will start again at cornerback.

We feel really good about our secondary because we have three of the four guys back,” Howell said when asked about his team’s strength on defense. “Even though we have a lot of guys going both ways, we still have guys to rotate around, especially in our skill positions and at defensive line.”

The Riverhawks are deep at linebacker. It all will start with Michael Tuckett (23 tackles in ‘17) at the inside linebacker slot. Dahle and Hayden Bowen will both return at outside linebacker as well.

Ridgeline’s biggest question mark will be at the wide receiver and defensive line positions. While Dahle and Bown will provide options at tight end and Zeb Niemann is a legitimate downfield threat at wideout, the Hawks will still be looking for a few playmakers to step up as options for Beck.

With the way that Ridgeline’s first two seasons have played out, the Riverhawks have reason to believe that 2018 is the year that they get over the hump, both in Region 12 and in the state playoffs.

“The question mark for us will be whether or not we’ll be able to solidify the defensive and offensive line,” Howell said. “If we can do that, we are going to have a really strong season.”

SCHEDULE

August 17th – vs. Spanish Fork – 7 PM

August 24th – vs. Snow Canon – 7 PM

August 31st – vs. Highland (ID) (At Idaho State) – 8:15 PM

September 7th – vs. Copper Hills – 7 PM

September 14th – at Mountain Crest – 7 PM

September 21st – vs. Logan – 7 PM

September 28th – at Green Canyon – 7 PM

October 5th – at Bear River – 7 PM

October 12th – vs. Sky View – 7 PM

October 17th – vs. Park City – 7 PM

FULL REGION 12 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Ridgeline Football will be heard on radio station 104.5 FM in Cache County with Dave Simmons calling the play-by-play.

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