Morgan football makes new changes to staff
Jun 13, 2024 12:18PM ● By Brian Shaw
Talking to Trojans head coach Jared Barlow, there is a sense of optimism going into the new football season as Morgan embarks on arguably its toughest preseason schedule in years.
“Things are going well,” said Coach Barlow, who’s entering his fifth season at Morgan. “We are just finishing up our padded camp today.”
The Trojans open with defending 4A champion Crimson Cliffs at home on Friday, Aug. 16, a date that is just two months away. They’ll host 4A Sky View six days later, then travel to Idaho to take on perennial power Pocatello Skyline Aug. 31 before going to Layton Christian Sept. 6 and will wrap up the preseason with a home game Sept. 13 against 5A Kearns.
With the new and arguably difficult schedule ahead of Morgan comes the news that the Trojans have also tinkered with a few adjustments to their coaching staff.
“We had some changes over the off-season, a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator,” said Coach Barlow, whose staff made the decision to move a new but still familiar face to the offensive side of the ball.
“Our new OC was our old DC, Matt Larsen,” added Coach Barlow. “He has made the transition to the offense well and this last week has been very productive for us. He was able to keep some continuity in what the kids already knew, which has helped.”
To that end, the Trojans installed a very familiar face in the Larsen family, according to Coach Barlow.
“Our new DC is his brother, Nate Larsen. Nate was our D-line coach and has been able to keep what we do defensively with a couple of changes to fit who he is,” said Morgan’s coach of both staff changes that were made on his defending 3A North championship winning team.
To defend that region championship, the Trojans will need to have a good preseason and follow that with a league slate that includes games at Juan Diego [Sept. 20] and at Ben Lomond [Sept. 27].
The 3A North schedule continues into October with two home games: Grantsville comes to Morgan County on October 4 and Ogden visits, Oct. 11. The Trojans will wrap up their 3A North slate with a game at Union on October 17.
Coach Barlow said he likes what he sees from this Trojans football team and added that the boys are ready for what’s to come. They’re led by several seniors on offense and on defense.
“The team is working hard, and we are excited for the upcoming season, to compete in the game that we all love.” λ
