Fotu Katoa stepped down as LHS head coach on Friday after three seasons as the Lancers’ head coach, according to sources familiar with the decision. Katoa wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Layton had finished with a losing record in nine of 11 previous seasons when Katoa came in as the head coach in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He had grand plans to turn Layton, long considered a sleeping giant in Northern Utah high school football, into a “powerhouse” program.

After a 2-7 mark in 2020, the Lancers went 6-5 with first-round playoff wins in each of the last two seasons, totaling a 14-17 record under Katoa which was their best three-season stretch since 2008-10 when they went 20-15.

Layton High has posted the head football coaching vacancy, in conjunction with a to-be-determined teaching position, on the Davis School District’s careers website. LHS is expected to move quickly to fill the position, given how soon the football team’s summer workouts and practices begin.

CHANGE COMING AT BOX ELDER

The 2023 football season will be Robbie Gunter’s final one at Box Elder High School.

A couple weeks ago, the Box Elder School District named Gunter as a new assistant principal at Box Elder High for the 2023-24 school year, a move he and school athletic director Jesse Roberts confirmed this week.

Typically, school administrators have to cede coaching duties when they go into administration. Given the quick turnaround between now and the start of the football season, school and district officials opted to let Gunter coach one more season and then hire a new head coach after the 2023 season.

Gunter has been Box Elder’s coach for the last 14 seasons after six years as Viewmont’s head coach. His teams have gone 75-84 at Box Elder with region championships in 2010 and 2018.

The Bees went 9-4 this past season and lost a 28-21 nailbiter to No. 1 Lehi in the state quarterfinals.

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.