By Greg James |  [email protected]           

One sign the summer is winding down is the beginning of football camps. The Taylorsville Warriors youth and high school teams are preparing for their upcoming seasons.

“Players never quit, they worked through water breaks, had players there with stitches in their arm. They are about the shovel,” head coach Pala Vaituu told his team on Facebook. 

The shovel has been the symbol of the team’s hard work. They believe quitters will not pick up the shovel to do hard work. The team has been using that as their motivation to work harder this offseason. 

The Taylorsville High School varsity team returns after going 4-6 last year. It captured one victory in its five region contests, a 59-20 victory over Copper Hills. Dane Leituala passed for five touchdowns and ran for three more in the win. 

Leituala will be a senior this year. He threw for 2,481 yards and 25 touchdowns in his junior season. He also had 18 rushing touchdowns. He ran for a season high 230 yards against Westlake in the final game. 

The Warriors’ high-potent offense averaged nearly 34 points per game and averaged nearly 485 yards. 

Their receiving position group lost its most potent producers to graduation: Ma’a Hall and Caleb Schulte. Returning seniors Keanu Spencer and Marshallfaulk Vaituu are the highest-producing players set to return. 

On defense, senior David Sterzer led the team last season as a junior with 65 solo tackles. Vaituu was fourth on the team with 38. 

The Warriors are scheduled to begin their season Friday, Aug. 17 at Snow Canyon High School. Their first home game is set for Sept. 7 against Jordan. 

The Taylorsville Youth district began its season July 23 with helmet only workouts. The program is available for youth players ages 7–14. They are members of the Ute Conference and play their games at Vista Elementary School. 

The Taylorsville district board negotiated discounts for its players at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Eastbay for equipment needs. Board members are hoping to work with the community to improve the players’ expereince. 

For fundraisers, district officials are gathering items for a basket raffle. Donations can be made to district board members and in person at the fields. Board members hope to use the fundraiser to help support players that can’t afford to play and purchase new equipment. 

Taylorsville has introduced a legacy coin this season to be awarded to players that participate every year from Gremlin to Bantams in the district. 

The youth and high school teams combined to host a skills camp. This is an opportunity for the high school coaches to participate with and get to know the youth players before they attend high school. The goal is to keep players playing in boundary and staying home through high school. 

The teams are hosting Warriorfest Aug 11 at Taylorsville High School. There will be scrimmages, food and

raffles to support the teams. They also participate in youth weigh-ins Aug. 17 at the Taylorsville Recreation pool afterward. There will be a pep rally for the teams. 

Youth league games begin in August.