New Crimson Cliffs head coach Wayne Alofipo aims to continue to build Mustang culture
New Crimson Cliffs football head coach Wayne Alofipo won’t be the only face in a new place for the Mustangs in 2022.
The former defensive coordinator takes over for Jaron Tate, who went 13-21 in the program’s first three years of existence, including an 8-5 mark in 2021.
After getting out of the gates slowly losing three of their first four, the Mustangs won seven of their next eight, only falling to Dixie 16-10 at home.
The Mustangs advanced all the way to the 4A semifinals before losing 49-34 to eventual state champion Ridgeline.
Alofipo joined Tate’s staff after being at Dixie for almost a decade, acting as the defensive coordinator under Blaine Monkres and Andy Stokes.
Prior to that, Alofipo played on the defensive line at Dixie State.
In 2022, with a new head coach in tow, the tallest task for Alofipo is replacing all 11 starters on defense and last year’s starting quarterback and running back.
Alofipo says he wasn’t considering taking the opening once Tate announced he was leaving to become the vice principal at Hurricane Middle School.
After talking with school administrators, Alofipo threw his name into the ring with the other nine or ten candidates.
“One thing led to another and they had a committee of nine or ten people that you had to interview. I went through it and somehow, some way, I became the candidate they wanted to hire,” said Alofipo.
The Crimson Cliffs football program had shown considerable improvement under Tate, starting at 1-9 in their first season before breaking out last year.
In that first season, the Mustangs didn’t have a home field, barely had a practice field or equipment, and the second year was affected by COVID-19.
Things finally started to fall into place in year three.
Now, Alofipo takes over for a team down its entire defense and major playmakers on offense.
Alofipo’s defense was the top-ranked defense in Region 10 a year ago and the third-best in 4A.
The defense allowed just 15.6 points per game throughout the season and only 11.6 in six region games on their way to a 4-2 region record. The Mustangs held six teams to ten points or less in 2021, including three shutouts, holding Cedar and Mountain Crest scoreless in back-to-back weeks.
“People are saying ‘you’re replacing 11’ but actually I’m replacing 17 because had 11 starters and six backups who were seniors,” said Alofipo.
The Mustangs wrapped up June workouts, with Alofipo getting a first-hand look at his reworked defense.
“Defensively, we’re going to be really young. We have a lot of youth on that side. It’s going to be majority juniors, maybe a sophomore or two, probably only one senior starter this coming season. The rest will be young.”
Crimson Cliffs lost its top 13 tacklers from a year ago, led by Jackson Griffiths, Zach Andrus, Nate Jorgensen, and Fasitootai Salanoa-Sagapolu.
More: National Signing Day: Crimson Cliffs stars sign with Carroll College, SUU, Dixie State
“With that being said, with that inexperience, these guys are a very athletic group. Our athleticism is incredible, but the experience isn’t there.”
To close that bridge of inexperience, Alofipo says he’s been increasing film sessions and jumping up 7-on-7 camps and practices.
“We definitely maximized our time in the month of June,” Alofipo said.
Junior Brooks Jensen is the top returning tackler with 20 tackles and 4.0 sacks last year. Fellow juniors Scott Nisson and Brayson Phillips each had 17 total tackles.
On offense, replacements for quarterback Gunner Orr and running back Easton Droubay are needed.
More: Dixie football defeats Crimson Cliffs 16-10
Juniors Steele Barben and Darius Strickland will battle it out for the starting quarterback job.
Whoever wins that battle will have an intriguing slew of receivers to throw to, with Konnor Kell and Owen Peterson, and Jordan Eaton, among others, catching Alofipo’s eyes.
Alofipo says the group that returns the most talent is in the trenches.
Stone Hansen, Connelly Ulrich, Parker Andrus, Tracson Jessop, and Jacob Zarate are all back along the lines.
While the Mustangs may look new on the field with their personnel, Alofipo stressed the idea of keeping the culture the same, and to keep building the new Crimson Cliffs culture.
“We need to cement some of the traditions we’ve been hoping to establish in the first three years,” said Alofipo. “There’s a lot of little things here and there to make sure that our traditions are cemented. Not just on the field, but in the community.”
Looking to build off a program-record eight wins, Crimson Cliffs opens its season at home against Green Canyon on August 12.
Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: New coach Wayne Alofipo to head football team at Crimson Cliffs High
