Tooele’s Ute Conference Bantam football team cruised through the season undefeated this year with a 10-0 record. The Bantam team is comprised of 13- and 14-year-old players who supplied an undefeated season to go along with an undefeated season by the Tooele High School freshmen team.
The Tooele Bantam team capped off its perfect season on Nov. 9 with a 39-13 victory over Grantsville at Cowboy Stadium. Now, these Bantam players will move on to the freshmen team.
Leading the squad were head coach Dean Adams and assistant coaches Lee Ascarte, Mike Schaff and Shawn McClatchey. Volunteer coaches were Cameron Ascarte, Mat Ascarte and Jimmy Valerio.
“I think the strength of this team was our unity,” said coach Adams. “Our players were a team on and off the field.”
Adams said that high school coach Kyle Brady as been a big help over the past few years with the Tooele Ute Conference. “Over the last few seasons he’s been trying to help build the Tooele Ute Conference. He’s even provided camps for the players and coaches,” Adams said.
There was a sudden influx of Bantam players this year so Tooele was able to organize an A team and a B team. “Last year this team didn’t even make the playoffs, but they’ve continued to grow and develop over the past two seasons,” the coach said.
The team succeeded by running the Wing T and I formations on offense.
The young football squad dominated the opposition in nine of its 10 victories for the season. Viewmont came the closest at handing the Buffaloes a loss in the last regular-season game on Oct. 12. Tooele won that game 20-14.
Tooele’s defense was stellar throughout the year with three shutouts. The Buffaloes only gave up a safety in one of the games, and in two games they only gave up one touchdown. Viewmont scored two touchdowns against the Buffaloes as did Grantsville in the championship game. Highland scored three touchdowns in a game on Sept. 28.
The Buffaloes rolled against Jordan in a preseason game with a 53-7 win. On Aug. 31 they blanked Herriman 41-0 followed by a 24-6 triumph over Cyprus. Tooele shut out Stansbury 28-0 on Sept. 14 with a 32-6 win over Bountiful on Sept. 21.
Tooele topped Highland 33-18 in a high-scoring affair on Sept. 28, and then blasted Hillcrest 47-0. The Buffaloes slipped past Viewmont 20-14 to wrap up the regular season and advance to the playoffs.
Tooele hit on all cylinders come playoff time with a 25-2 win over Hillcrest, and a 39-13 victory over Grantsville in the championship contest.
Members of the undefeated square are Brayden Adams, Ryan Ascarte, Peton Baker, Jeno Bins, Brennon Derrick, Michael Dunn, Erwin Figueroa, Dakota Hovestadt, Collin Lawrence, Donovan McClatchey, Taylor Miller, Dwarren Robinson, Michael “Tony” Schaff, Samuel Thompson, Niko Valerio, Dawson Vorwaller, Tyler Wallis and Benjamin Wasson.