This year, Region 5 coaches consistently pointed to Bountiful High as the favorite and everyone else after that. Bountiful’s well aware of that, considering the territory it occupies.

Not only are the Redhawks two-time unbeaten region champions, but they return another good team that’s primed for a legitimate three-peat attempt.

“I think it gives us a big confidence boost,” senior linebacker/receiver Jacob Brooks said. “Obviously, we’re never satisfied. We want a three-peat, we want to go further in the playoffs, win more games — but I think it helps put us on the map and give us confidence.”

The Redhawks return some of their best players on both sides of the ball from last year’s 7-3 team that earned a first-round playoff bye but lost to Orem in the second round.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

There are names people know, like Brooks, senior safety Faletau Satuala and senior linebacker Brig Morrison.

Satuala is an athletic, 6-foot-4 safety and receiver with 12 reported college football offers.

“He’s a phenomenal talent and again, as good as he is, off the field he’s just exceptional,” BHS head coach Jason Freckleton said.

Morrison was the team’s leading tackler last year. Brooks led the team in sacks.

Bountiful’s best players made their mark on defense and were one reason the team allowed 15.1 points per game and forced 26 turnovers. They’re also a reason the team expects to be good on that side of the ball again.

There’s another thing behind Bountiful’s good defense, too, and that’s how things are run every day.

“There’s been a shift where they’re really playing as a team and they care about their teammate more than their own success, and the more we can build onto that, the better we’re always going to be,” Freckleton said.

The Redhawks graduated their quarterback, top three running backs, some of their best defenders and a handful of linemen.

They’ve also had a couple players transfer and have a huge junior class filled with kids who don’t have a lot of varsity time.

“Going into summer, I was a little nervous just because we lost a couple kids, but I think there’s been a lot of kids to step up,” Satuala said.

Of the new names expecting to break into the starting rotation, junior quarterback Emerson Geilman’s name has been mentioned the most.

He’s a 6-foot-2 signal caller and impressed a lot of people at a Southern Utah University team camp in July, where the Redhawks scrimmaged good teams from around Utah and other states.

Bountiful scored 18.1 points per game last year. Take out four defensive touchdowns and one special teams score, and it’s 15.1 per game. Improving the offense has been emphasized, and Geilman’s gains have injected some optimism there.

“This whole summer, (Geilman’s) been working really hard. He’s always getting the receivers to go and throw all the time,” Satuala said. “We’ve just put in a lot of work this summer with him, he’s built a lot of chemistry with the receivers.”

The Redhawks have been a run-heavy team recently and with a returning running back, Morrison, behind three returning offensive linemen, the Redhawks should be able to run well.

With Satuala, Brooks and junior Britton Tidwell running at receiver, there’s optimism Bountiful might be more balanced or even pass-prolific.

Freckleton said in July he wants to see more depth develop to bridge the separation between the first-string players and the backups.

Brooks had a more micro approach to what the team needs before the season opener.

“Between now and game one, I think it’s the little things, like first steps and execution, the hand placement, the alignment of things,” Brooks said. “I think it’s the little things because we’re always just that one little thing away.”

Bountiful’s getting a turf field installed, so the team has done conditioning at nearby Oak Hills Elementary in the summer.

Originally, BHS thought the turf would be done in time to host Farmington on Aug. 18 but construction delays have pushed the Redhawks’ home opener out to the Week 7 game against Clearfield on Sept. 22.

In a year where they’re defending a region title again, they’ll only have two chances to defend their actual home turf.

No matter where Bountiful plays, it’ll get everyone else’s best effort, a result of the most consistent success the program’s had since the Larry Wall era.

It’s exactly how Freckleton wants it.

QUOTABLE

Bountiful has lost in the playoffs at home to Orem the last two seasons.

“It’s our Everest, if you will. It’s the one that I know we gotta beat. I want to see them again, to be honest with you, in the playoffs. It’s my mentality,” Freckleton said. “I want to see them, I want to beat them because if we beat Orem, I feel like we’re really gonna establish where we’re at.”

Ironically, Bountiful beat Orem in Freckleton’s junior year of high school and lost to Orem at home in his senior year.

FACTS and FIGURES

2022 season: 7-3, 5-0 Region 5. Bountiful repeated as Region 5 champions and lost to Orem in the second round of the playoffs, 35-25.

2023 strength of schedule: 55-57 (.491).

Returning starters: 6 offense, 5 defense.

Strength/Weakness: Defense/Depth.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Faletau Satuala, SR., WR/S/QB: Satuala is a big-time college recruit, and his final three school choices are Utah, UCLA and BYU. He had six interceptions, 60 tackles and 327 receiving yards with three TDs last year. Satuala is 6-foot-4, athletic, can cover a lot of ground in a hurry and can also throw the ball.

Brig Morrison, SR., MLB/FB: Morrison led the team in tackles with 90 last year and had three TDs on offense. He’s expected to have a bigger role on offense this year.

Jacob Brooks, SR., OLB/WR: Brooks led the team in sacks with 3 1/2, fumble recoveries with three and forced fumbles with two. He’ll be more involved on offense as one of two returning starting receivers.

Emerson Geilman, JR., QB: Geilman has been the surprise of the summer, impressing Bountiful coaches and players down at SUU team camp. Satuala used the term “gunslinger” to describe Geilman.

Britton Tidwell, JR., S/WR: Tidwell made 29 tackles with four interceptions. He snagged two INTs and returned one for a TD in the 23-14 win at Bonneville.

London Wood, SR., OL: Wood will be a three-year starter on the offensive line and is a big team leader.

Caleb Norris, JR., DL/OL: Freckleton said Norris is the strongest kid on the team, pound for pound. Norris made 23 tackles with 2 1/2 sacks on defense.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bountiful scored 181 points and gave up 151 in 10 games last year for a grand total of 332, which was the lowest season total for a Region 5 champion since 1986 when Sky View scored 126 points and allowed 110 in 10 games en route to sharing the 3A Region 5 spoils with Bear River.

Bountiful is 5-4 all-time against Orem and all nine meetings have been in the playoffs, with eight of them since 2000. They met in the first round of the playoffs four straight years from 2004-07.

All-time record against this year’s opponents: 0-0 against Herriman, 2-3 against Farmington, 11-9 against Olympus, 35-23 against Viewmont, 19-4 against Bonneville, 2-0 against Northridge, 29-12 against Clearfield, 9-8 against Box Elder, 15-9 against Roy, 34-11 against Woods Cross.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

The first six games are away from home, but two are classified as being at neutral sites. The first five games stand out.

Herriman returns a dual-threat quarterback with four offensive line starters, plus a handful of defensive starters, plus transfer linebacker Ephraim Asiata, who has offers from BYU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, USC and Utah.

Asiata survived a shooting in January 2022 near Hunter High that killed two teenagers and put Asiata, the son of former Utah Utes and Minnesota Vikings running back Matt Asiata, in the hospital.

Farmington is inexperienced at most positions but has a lot of talent and depth all around.

Olympus returns a ton of players from last year’s 7-6 team, but had a coaching change in mid-July.

The first two region games are neutral-site games, first against rival Viewmont and then against fellow region contender Bonneville.

In Region 5 as a whole, it’s either a tough game or a rivalry game for seven straight weeks.

SCHEDULE

All games 7 p.m.

Aug. 11: at Herriman

Aug. 18: at Farmington

Aug. 25: at Olympus

Sept. 1: vs. Viewmont* (at Woods Cross)

Sept. 8: vs. Bonneville* (at Viewmont)

Sept. 15: at Northridge*

Sept: 22: Clearfield*

Sept: 29: at Box Elder*

Oct. 6: Roy*

Thurs., Oct. 12: at Woods Cross* (KJZZ)

* — Denotes Region 5 game

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