Hunter Johnson-Jake Hill connection expected to lead Snow Canyon football; Warriors picked 2nd in Region 10

ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon High School football team was picked to finish second in Region 10 this season, which is just about right, according to Warriors head coach Mike Esplin.

Snow Canyon quarterback Hunter Johnson (right) and receiver Jake Hill (front) work on a pass play at practice, St. George, Utah, Aug. 11, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St.
George News

“I’m actually glad that some people have put us not in first,” Esplin told St. George News after an early morning walk-through with the Warriors Thursday, “so that we don’t have big heads going into it.”

He went on to add that high expectations are good, but with young people, a little uncertainty can be good too.

“If they’re getting told that maybe they’re one, maybe they’re two, I think we’ll get a better effort out of them,” Esplin said. “Who knows, anyway, with the news and all that? But as far as our approach, that helps.”

Last year, quarterback Hunter Johnson’s junior season, the Warriors finished 5-5 overall and 3-3 in Region 10.

After defeating Pine View 44-43 in overtime in a dramatic region finale, Snow Canyon lost to the Panthers 31-22 the next week in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

The Warriors flashed signs of a prolific offense last season, and with Johnson highlighting a group of nine returning starters on that side of the ball, Snow Canyon enters the 2022 campaign confident about lighting up the scoreboard.

Esplin discussed Johnson’s preseason approach, saying the difference between being a first-year starter and a returning starter is significant.

“You’re a lot more composed,” Esplin said. “I think that’ll be the biggest improvement that people see in his game. We know he can escape and make plays last longer and come up with big throws in pressure situations.

“I think consistently, the ball will come out on time,” he added. “He’s just more confident and he’s repped more with the kids that he’s throwing to. So I think interceptions go way down and I think his completion ratio goes up.”

Johnson will have at his disposal a fleet of tall, experienced senior wide receivers. Snow Canyon will look to Brooks Esplin, Will Warner and Jake Hill to catch touchdown passes from Johnson all season.

Hill, listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, showed notable leaping ability and soft hands last season and is expected to be one of the top high school wideouts in 4A this year.

“For somebody that has that much talent, you’re trying to coach them to a level that they can’t naturally get to on their own,” Esplin said of Hill. “Just being tall and probably the fastest player on the field, and the things that come natural, he’s going to be very successful.

Snow Canyon senior quarterback Hunter Johnson jokes with his coaches at a practice, St. George, Utah, Aug. 11, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“We got to push him to do all of the extra things, the hustle things, maybe getting better at routes that you’re not naturally as good at,” he added. “I know where his mind is at, I know what matters to him. So I definitely look for him to push past what he already has done.”

A soft spot for the Warriors last year was up front as they had to play inexperienced offensive linemen. That story is reversed this year as seniors Abram Gardner, Beau Miller and Traiden Filipe return along with junior Tag Gubler. Snow Canyon’s O-line should be a strength in 2022.

Defensively, Snow Canyon will turn around its talented wide receiver corps to play in the secondary, along with senior defensive back Brandon Gough.

Standout senior Rockwell Jones will lead an otherwise all-junior list of linebackers for Snow Canyon. Rio Ochoa and Phoenix Oliver are two senior defensive linemen who will battle in the trenches for the Warriors.

A date to circle on the calendar is Sept. 23. Snow Canyon hosts Region 10 preseason favorite Desert Hills that night at 7 p.m. in a contest that will go a long way towards determining the Region 10 champion.

The two rivals played a 35-33 thriller won by the Thunder at Desert Hills when they met last year, but only after the last play of the game ended when Johnson and Hill just missed connecting on a 2-point conversion that would have forced overtime.

It was a painful loss for the Warriors, but Esplin said it could come back to be a good thing for Snow Canyon this year.

“I know it will help,” Esplin said. “The only thing that we have to coach around is that they’re so emotionally tied to getting revenge and changing that outcome. We can’t change last year’s outcome. We can only change this year.

“To be motivated and have that be part of positive motivation is great,” he added. “We just don’t want to go overly into battle without thinking, for sure.”

Snow Canyon opens the 2022 football season at home Friday night against Northridge at 7 p.m.

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