Roy football preview: Amid 3-way quarterback battle, Royals feel good about 2023 prospects
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
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- Roy High’s football team scrimmages Davis High on June 23, 2023, at Roy High School.
ROY — Optimism’s easy to see in Roy High’s football program.
The Royals return several starters, their new starters got some playing time and their group of skill players is making opposing defensive coordinators think about Roy early.
Roy is also back in 5A Region 5 after four years playing against bigger and deeper teams in 6A Region 1 and Region 2; many have felt for years that RHS belongs in Region 5, with schools of similar economic status.
The team feels pretty good about where things are and Roy had a full offseason with its head coach and coordinators, unlike 2022 when Chris Solomona became head coach in mid-April following departures of longtime coaches Fred Fernandes and Eric Jones to Bingham.
“I think we’re pretty confident this year. I mean, last year, it was tough to be confident with three — (offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator) and head coach — it being their first year in that position. But this year I think the trust is there and we can trust them to put us in the right positions to win,” senior receiver/safety Cole West said.
The main problem to solve is at quarterback.
Roy regularly played Dru Gardner and Colby Frokjer at quarterback. Gardner passed for 1,264 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions on a 66.4% completion rate. Frokjer threw for 585 yards with seven TDs against two picks.
The team went into the offseason with a Gardner-Frokjer battle at QB, then senior Joseph Cariaga III transferred in from Maui High in Hawaii, making it a three-way QB competition.
Solomona called it a good competition between the three quarterbacks and called it the program’s “three-headed monster” this entire winter and spring.
He expects the QB competition to continue “probably” for the next few weeks. All three quarterbacks bring something good to the table.
Gardner has a year of experience with the offensive scheme. Solomona called Gardner poised, confident and feels he’s in charge of the huddle better than last year.
Frokjer also knows the offense and he’s very athletic. If he doesn’t play quarterback, he could play receiver or corner. No matter what, Frokjer is the team’s punter, kickoff specialist and competing for the placekicker spot.
Cariaga III played the last two years at Maui High in Kahului, Hawaii. He’s not as familiar with Roy’s offense as the returners but throws the ball well and “what really separates him at times is his ability to run,” Solomona said.
“Every single one of them are pushing each other and they’re competing. … Not to put too much pressure on each other, but they just know, like, every day they gotta come and really stand out,” Solomona said in June.
“It’s a problem to have three rotating, but it’s a good problem because we have three solid quarterbacks that can play. If one of them goes down then, another one will step up and he won’t miss a beat,” West said.
Senior tight end/linebacker Cove Rodriguez agreed and likes the fact that all three quarterbacks bring something different that can help the team.
Quarterback aside, Roy has a somewhat typical Royals team with good skill players and many two-way starters.
They have 11 straight winning seasons and are looked at as one of the teams to beat in Region 5, but Solomona insists there isn’t an easy game in Region 5. Overall, Rodriguez stressed the importance of the team working together and not splintering into groups ahead of the season opener.
Roy started a bunch of juniors and sophomores in 2022, has experience in key spots and appears to be better in the leadership department.
“I’m really anxious to see how we deal with adversity, that’s another one. Last year, when you’re young and dealing with adversity, sometimes it doesn’t gel and you don’t have that senior push to kind of rally up the troops and get them going. This year, I feel a little different. I feel there is a bit more of that leadership,” Solomona said.
Offensive and defensive line are where Roy has the biggest shoes to replace. Cade Draper and Jaxton Wilberg return on the O-line. On defense, the Royals are moving Maxx Johnson from linebacker to defensive line.
Solomona said sophomore Kasch Casero could play both ways. The O-line, important as it is everywhere, plays a huge role in Roy’s run-balanced offense.
“If they are able to kind of handle everything that’s thrown at them — we got some new faces up front — then I feel good because I think we’re pretty, I wouldn’t say we’re loaded, but we have enough depth in our skill positions and obviously our quarterbacks,” Solomona said.
For all of Roy’s regular-season success, the Royals have lost three straight first-round home playoff games. They lost on a walk-off kick return to West in 2020, lost on a late field goal to Westlake in 2021 and lost 31-14 to Weber last year.
It’s another problem for Roy to solve, albeit in October. It’s still on everyone’s mind.
“Just staying bought in and not letting the end of the season drag you down. … You just can’t be done with it; you have to stay with it,” Rodriguez said.
“The end of the season, it’s getting pretty tiring coming out to practice every day. It’s just like another day. But I think we just gotta look forward to the competition and we gotta compete and can’t give up,” West said.
QUOTABLE
Solomona, now a second-year head coach, is grateful for the help he gets.
“You’re only as good as your assistants. I’ve heard that before, and it’s a true statement now going into year two,” he said.
FACTS and FIGURES
2022 season: 7-4, 5-1 Region 2. Roy concluded its two-year run in Region 2 with a second straight second-place finish in the region. The Royals lost 31-14 to Weber in the first round of the playoffs, their third straight first-round home playoff exit.
2023 strength of schedule: 49-61 (.445)
Returning starters: 7 offense, 5 defense
Strength/Weakness: Talent and depth at skill positions, overall team experience./Inexperience at offensive line, team depth.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Robert Young, JR., ATH: Young can line up everywhere. He had 470 receiving yards, 341 rushing yards and 161 return yards with 11 total touchdowns last season.
Daeqwan Snider, SR., RB: Snider was the leading rusher in a three-back rotation last year with 460 yards and five TDs on 6.9 yards per rush.
Cade Draper, JR., OL/DL: Roy’s best offensive lineman, Draper is a returning starter and will anchor the group up front.
Cove Rodriguez, SR., LB/TE: Rodriguez ranked first in receptions last year with 23, third in receiving yards with 260 and is moving from outside linebacker to inside backer on defense.
Cole West, SR., WR/S: One of many two-way playmakers for the Royals, West tied for the team lead with 23 catches and also made 30 tackles with four pass defenses.
Logan Cella, JR., LB/RB: Cella was one of three rotating running backs and gained 315 yards, and he’ll also start at inside linebacker on defense.
Dru Gardner, JR., QB: A returner at quarterback who had 13 TD passes against five picks last season and completed 66.4% of his passes. He had a breakout game in the 34-21 win against Fremont, throwing for 232 yards and four TDs.
Colby Frokjer, JR., ATH: Frokjer was the backup quarterback last year but can play all over the field if he’s not at QB. He’s also the team’s punter, kickoff specialist and is competing for the placekicker spot. Frokjer is a five-sport athlete in football, golf, basketball, soccer and track.
Joseph Cariaga III, SR., QB: An experienced, dual-threat transfer quarterback from Hawaii. He can throw and run and could factor into the offense in some way even if he doesn’t win the starting QB job.
DID YOU KNOW?
Roy’s top three returning receivers last year all caught exactly 23 passes (Cole West, Cove Rodriguez and Robert Young). The Royals’ three leading rushers, Daeqwan Snider, Robert Young and Logan Cella, carried the ball 67, 55 and 54 times, respectively.
Last year’s season-opening, 48-0 loss to American Fork was Roy’s worst loss since a 65-14 playoff loss to East in 2013.
Roy has won seven or more games five straight seasons and has 11 straight winning seasons overall. The Royals had 12 straight winning seasons from 1967-78.
Roy has won 11 straight games against Clearfield, while its last win over Viewmont came in 1992.
The Royals have lost three straight home playoff games, once each to West, Westlake and Weber, schools whose names begin with the letter “W.” Roy is 2-5 (.285) all-time in the playoffs against schools whose names start with the letter “W,” and 18-25 (.419) against everyone else.
Roy’s all-time records against teams on its schedule: 0-3 against American Fork, 9-12 against Fremont, 32-25 against Weber, 21-11 against Clearfield, 15-23 against Box Elder, 19-34 against Bonneville, 3-5 against Woods Cross, 6-4 against Viewmont, 9-15 against Bountiful and 9-8 against Northridge.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
This is the first time since 2014 that Roy faces Weber, Fremont and Bonneville in the same season. Roy’s won eight of the last nine games against Fremont, won five straight against Bonneville and lost the last two against Weber.
The Royals were about to have four straight road games from Week 2 to Week 5 until the Box Elder game got moved to Roy due to delays with BEHS’ turf construction.
The Shield Game rivalry with Weber returns after a two-year hiatus (2022’s playoff game wasn’t a Shield Game in the trophy sense), and it’s Roy’s most-played rivalry. RHS leads the all-time series 32-25.
Region 5 is both tough and exciting for Roy as it rejoins longtime rivals Bonneville, Box Elder and Clearfield. Week 7 at Woods Cross is a difficult game against a big, physical, triple-option run team late in the season.
The Week 9 game at Bountiful probably plays a significant role in the Region 5 title race, whether that’s for Roy or Bountiful.
SCHEDULE
All games 7 p.m.
Aug. 11: American Fork
Aug. 18: at Fremont
Aug. 25: at Weber
Sept. 1: at Clearfield*
Thurs., Sept. 7: Box Elder*^
Sept. 15: Bonneville*
Sept: 22: at Woods Cross*
Sept: 29: Viewmont*
Oct. 6: at Bountiful*
Thurs., Oct. 12: Northridge*
* — Denotes Region 5 game
^ — TV broadcast on KJZZ
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
