Though warm summer temperatures are still blanketing the Wasatch Back, football season begins this week.  The Wasatch High School football team will take on Cedar at home at 7 p.m. Thursday. Cedar are the defending 3A state champions.  The Wasps will be in their second season under head coa ch Derik Bringhurst. The head ball coach believes his team can improve upon their 4-7 mark from last season as they step down from the larger 5A classification into 4A.  Also on Wasatch’s schedule this season are the new Deer Creek High School team and Park City, whom they’ll face Sept. 4 and Oct. 2.  “We’ve got a very young team. Not returning a whole lot of starters,” Bringhurst said. “They are excited to play the 3A state champions. … Practices have been pretty intense because they realize a really good team is coming into town.” Thursday’s game will also be broadcast on KSL, adding extra pressure for the inexperienced team. KSL asked the game be moved from high school football’s usual Friday night slot. Bringhurst said intense practices and weight lifting sessions have been a hallmark of this team. He said he is involving the players a lot more in accountability and decision making this season. He believes this refined approach has created more leaders on the team.  Bringhurst hopes intense practices and more team leadership will be the difference against Cedar, who he said is also pretty inexperienced after graduating 26 players off the title-winning team. He tabbed juniors Bryce Harr, River Holmes and Wyatt Washburn as players who could make a difference against Cedar and down the road.  “I don’t have enough time to talk about all the great guys on the team,” Bringhurst said. “I think we’re going to make a big splash in 4A. My expectations are pretty high right now with this team.” The coach is pleased that he was able to retain what he believes to be 80% of last season’s underclassmen. About 20% of that group went to Deer Creek. He believes having a strong returning group who has played many of the teams on their schedule before will help them succeed.  Bringhurst said last season was about rebuilding. This season, the Wasps will rely heavily on their run game. On defense, the team will try to read their opponents and fill empty spaces on the field. Bringhurst believes that, in areas where his players may be undersized, they can use their speed and athleticism to their advantage.  “What I’ve learned the most is that culture is everything,” Bringhurst said. “Beautiful and unbelievable things happen when players are leading the team in the right direction, with some with some good coaching and leadership counseling going on behind the scenes with those leaders.” After the Cedar game, Wasatch will hit the road for five-straight games. Bringhurst believes the unfortunate scheduling is due to it being the Wasps’ first year in 4A. He said he and his staff will listen to their players on how to best prepare for all those road games.  “I feel like in years past our team has been a better road team than a home team when it comes to mental preparation,” Bringhurst said. “I really feel like our guys travel and compete really, really well. … So I think we continue what we’ve been doing in the past, tweak it a little bit, get better with it but don’t make too many changes.” For the Wasps’ complete schedule and further information as their season starts, see the team’s MaxPreps page. The post Wasatch High School football team opens season Thursday appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less