MANTI—Plenty has changed for Manti football over the last few years.
Coach Cole Meacham didn’t always need to disguise coverage on defense or work through a passing game on offense. Manti wasn’t always contending with 3A teams representing much larger schools.
For all the warnings about trying to teach an old dog new tricks, Meacham has been able to keep up with the times, switching to a spread/pro-style offense and diversifying his defensive packages, even as he enters his 23rd season with the Templars, the longest coaching tenure in the state.
“I rely on the kids and assistant coaches a lot,” Meacham said. Manti struggled in 2021, finishing with a 3-7 overall record and losing, 34-28, in the first round of the 3A state tournament to 3A newcomer Ogden.
The Templars fielded an exceptionally young roster with only four seniors in the varsity lineup. At times, more than half of Manti’s starters were sophomores.
There was plenty of instability to wade through for Manti. It took a few weeks to decide on the starting quarterback. After that, injuries began to accumulate. COVID-19 exposure nixed a nonregion game against Juan Diego. Midway through the season, after suffering back-to-back blowout losses to Grantsville and Morgan, even Meacham knew it was time to go back to basics.
With adjustments, the Templars looked better in the second half of the season, notching impressive wins over Canyon View and Carbon. They even took a solid shot at Juab at the end of the season, all great experiences for underclassmen now ready to run it back.
The Templars return an eye-popping nine starters on both sides of the ball, over 80 percent of their starting lineup, and have a senior group nearly triple the size of last year.
Quarterback issues will likely be in the rearview mirror. Senior Kayson Douglas has a five-finger grip on the starting spot. Douglas completed 92 of 163 passes for 1,080 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season while briefly battling with fellow senior Larson Pogroszewski for the permanent starting quarterback slot. Pogroszewski returns at running back after collecting 597 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 2021.
Meacham noted that backup quarterback Maison Starkweather is fully game-ready. In very limited time last season, Starkweather completed 10 of 18 passes for 196 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
“Kayson’s improved a ton,” Meacham said. “Right now, he’s the starter.” He said Starkwater is getting about a third of the successful plays in practice. “If there’s an injury or anything, Maison’s right there ready to roll.”
The defense has a good mix of returning talent, Meacham said. It mostly comes at the skill positions with four linebackers and two cornerbacks returning. Senior Reggie Frischknecht will be a good bet to impress fans after getting 34 tackles and grabbing three interceptions last year.
Manti isn’t the only team that can boast about experience. After winning the region title for the third consecutive time, Juab is returning almost as many starters as Manti.
“A lot of the other teams had a lot of juniors, so a lot of them are bringing a lot of kids back,” Meacham said. “It’s probably more than normal.”
The Templars will begin their season on the road, taking on Union this Friday. Their first home game will be next Friday when they host Delta. Manti’s other nonregion games are at home against the two 3A state finalists, Grantsville and Morgan, and on the road against Juan Diego.
