Locked and Loaded: Speed And Size Make Farmington A Contender

Football fans watching won’t have to look hard to find a spectacular athlete or player over six feet tall.

The Falcons are loaded with them.

“We have an awful lot of talent,” head coach John Bechtel. “We got size, we got speed. I think we’ll be able to run the ball real well. We’re kind of excited about this team.” 

Bechtel has to replace an almost ridiculous amount of talent, including wide receiver Jason Wilson, running back Neno Jones, wide receiver Kyle Humphrey, defensive back Dae’von Scarber and quarterback Matthew Craven. 

But despite losing seven seniors with three years of starting experience, there’s nothing but optimism coming from the coaching staff and players. Bechtel is all smiles talking about his roster this year.

At quarterback, he has Chris Morgan taking over the offense. The senior has picked up the system quickly this offseason. He has a smooth throwing motion and puts good velocity on his throws.

“Our goal is to have him firing week one,” Bechtel said. “The whole offense is in, and he has a pretty good handle on it.”

Morgan’s arm will definitely give Farmington the option to go deep. And he’ll have a pretty big target.

Josh Curtis, a 6'1" wide receiver, transferred to Farmington from Las Vegas. He was one of the highest ranked receivers in Nevada and an all-state receiver last year.

“I think we could be dangerous,” senior running back and linebacker Connor Mohr said. “Chris has looked good at quarterback. If our offensive line can block well, we’ll be able to run the ball.”

Mohr was one of the top running backs in the Oakland Activities Association last season. He’s started for the Falcons since his sophomore season. Four of the players he ran behind last year graduated, but he likes what he sees from his new offensive line.  

It’s easy to see why. He’ll be running behind right tackle Ryan Caprathe, left tackle Matt Marx and guard Keenan White. Caprathe is a 6'5" junior who weighs in at 295 pounds. Marx is 6'3" senior who tops 300. White is almost tiny in comparison, at 260 pounds.   

“It’s fun to know that I can get some big yards with these huge guys in front of me,” Mohr said.

Fellow running back Bryan Green said the defense could be just as talented. Green is starting at strong safety and said the unit has just as much size and speed as the offense.

The Falcons held opponents to under 13 points per game last season. First-year starters will need to know their assignments to match those kinds of numbers.

“We run a real sophisticated system where you can’t afford to make a lot of mistakes,” Bechtel said.

Farmington’s seniors are pushing the younger players at practice to get it right. The varsity squad has lost in the first round of the playoffs for three straight seasons. All the losses were very close games.

The group doesn’t want to graduate without a playoff win. Mohr was injured at the end of last season and had to watch his team drop a close game to the Bears 25-14.

“It was terrible,” Mohr said. “I wanted to play so bad,” Mohr said. “We came so close to Berkley, this year we really want to make a big run.”