West Field football preview: Eric Jones, Longhorns working against the clock ahead of inaugural season
Longhorns' displaced offseason brought the herd together
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- West Field’s Daison Merrill stands over an Ogden defender during a 7s scrimmage with Ben Lomond, Clearfield and Ogden on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at Ogden High School.
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- West Field quarterback Gunner Pearson lets the ball fly during a 7s scrimmage with Ben Lomond, Clearfield and Ogden on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at Ogden High School.
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- West Field wide receiver Phoenix Sandoval cuts between two Ogden defenders during a 7s scrimmage with Ben Lomond, Clearfield and Ogden on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at Ogden High School.
TAYLOR — An already hypercompetitive high school football slate gets a little busier this fall with the addition of West Field and head coach Eric Jones.
The former Bingham coach and longtime Roy assistant will lead Weber County’s first new football program since 1994. Jones, sought after by West Field following the premature departure of original hire Michael Knight from Syracuse, went 16-9 in two seasons at Bingham.
Among the pool of candidates, Jones was one of few coaches already carrying raising a football program from the ground up on his resume. Jones served as an assistant at Syracuse when its doors opened in 2007, as the Titans finished their inaugural season 0-10.
“It’s challenging,” Jones said. “Not having your school to go to, not having your equipment or your weight room — it leaves you a little bit in limbo while you’re trying to figure out places that’ll work with you.”
Despite sharing facilities at Roy High, West Field has been a regular sight at 7-on-7 tournaments this summer while awaiting the highly-anticipated opening of the school’s football stadium — now delayed until September instead of the Weber School District’s original target of Aug. 1.
The Longhorns’ roster includes an assortment of talent from across the area. According to Weber School District, the largest share of players come from Fremont, which accounted for more than 80% of West Field’s incoming 1,200 students.
“They’re all coming from different backgrounds, different situations, they’ve worked under different coaches,” Jones said. “Everything’s new … so you’re a little behind the eight ball, but that’s the nature of it.”
Jones will field a team with zero varsity experience when West Field’s inaugural season begins at Layton High on Aug. 16. The Longhorns will have a quick turnaround in Week 2, challenging defending 3A state champs Richfield at Weber State’s Stewart Stadium on Aug. 23.
Make no mistake, West Field knows what it’s up against. One of the team’s most vocal leaders and emerging linebackers, Cash Colohan, transferred from Roy just to play for Jones after sitting out his junior season.
“I heard Jones was coaching and I was like, ‘I gotta go play for Jones,'” Colohan said. “I never got to play for him but I’d heard a lot about Jones and I just really like how he’d gone about it (at Roy) … I wanted to come here and help build this upcoming team.”
Colohan’s role mirrors that of many upperclassmen on the Longhorns roster, as the team has built an identity for themselves in roughly two months. The senior said the experience, even if it involves a long stretch of growing pains, is already paying dividends.
“I haven’t known these guys for very long but I already feel a brotherhood,” Colohan said. “Getting thrown into the fire, we’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity, especially in these tournaments. … (Other teams have) been running playbooks for 3-4 years and we’ve had to learn this in just a couple of months.”
Junior quarterback Hinckley Keele, promoted from tackle, and senior running back Trey Bridge are two more names responsible for keeping the band together while walking into the season with a large, burnt-orange target on their backs, Jones said.
“When you get out in these environments where the other team doesn’t like you very much and they’ve got just as good athletes and coaches, it makes for a tough environment,” Jones said. “Seeing the way kids respond is really important.”
The most seniority on the roster rests on the line of scrimmage, with four senior tackles — Mason Peterson, Stone Seich, Tanner Erickson and Jackson Paystrup — reporting from Fremont. Jones also has been impressed with junior Brixton White, who transferred from Roy.
Elsewhere on the depth chart, Jones expects juniors Corbin Price (linebacker), Bridger Wood (linebacker) and Boston Kap (quarterback) to carve out spaces for themselves within the playbook.
As of mid-July, the Longhorns’ preparation, in some ways, has replicated his experience at Syracuse, Jones said. On a surface level, West Field is a team without a physical home; Jones wants his team to find that home within each other.
“We’ve kind of been nomads,” Jones said. “But I think that’s actually a good thing in the process, that kind of adversity and getting the kids to just understand that they don’t have control over those situations. … It ends up being a bonding experience.”
WEST FIELD NOTES
Eric Jones: After several years at Roy, West Field head coach Eric Jones went 16-9 in two seasons at Bingham. In 2023, Jones led the Miners (6-6, 4-1 Region 2) to the 6A state quarterfinal vs. American Fork (L 42-14).
Longhorns in 4A: In its first year and in the middle of a realignment period, West Field was placed as a 4A school and joined Region 11 with Bear River and the five Cache County high schools.
Players to watch:
• Hinckley Keele, QB, Junior
• Trey Bridge, RB, Senior
• Jaden Fowers, WR, Junior
• Cash Colohan, MLB, Senior
• Brexton White, Tackle Junior
• Mason Peterson, Tackle, Senior
• Stone Seich, Tackle, Senior
• Tanner Erickson, Tackle, Senior
• Jackson Paystrup, Tackle, Senior
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 16 – @ Layton
Aug. 23 – Richfield (Stewart Stadium at Weber State)
Aug. 30 – Salem Hills
Sept. 6 – @ Green Canyon*
Sept. 13 – Logan*
Sept. 19 – Mountain Crest*
Sept. 27 – Spanish Fork
Oct. 4 – Bear River*
Oct. 11 – Sky View*
Oct. 16 – Ridgeline*
*Denotes Region 11 game.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.