An interview with Buckaroo football coach JC Hall

SPORTS SHORTS

by Scott Boyle

JC Hall, head coach of the Monticello Buckaroo football team, recently concluded his third year at the helm of the Bucks with 5-6 record. However, the Bucks still qualified for the state 1A playoffs, before losing to Enterprise 30-3 in the quarterfinals. He had this to say about the season:

Q: Could you give me some perspective on this season?

A: Injuries...I am not sure if there is a better word to use for this year. I have never seen a year with as many key injuries. I feel really bad for those kids whose year was cut short by injury, and for those who were healthy all year whose season was hurt by injury. Regardless of what happened, this team was ready to bounce back week after week.

Q: What was the high point of the season for you and your team?

A: The high point for me would be seeing these young men get up time after time when they were knocked down. There are a lot of great young men on this team and I don’t want to single anyone out, they all stepped up when needed.

Q: How did your team changed since the first of the year?

A: We learned a lot as a team. A lot of players played spots they have never played. Each kid would willingly jump into any position to help his team at any time. That is something I can’t teach and these kids should be proud of what they did.

Q: Can you talk about the weaknesses of this team?

A: I can’t comment on that question. I asked that we never look at negative throughout the year, so I will only comment on the positive. These kids fought hard week after week and made me proud to be their coach.

Q: What have you learned?

A: I learned to take the punches. I found myself down and out a lot after we would lose another key player and time after time one of the players would help me get my head up.

Q: What do you hope your seniors have gained from being a Monticello Buckaroo football player?

A: I hope they have learned life lessons. Football is a great game, but it is a game. If they are able to go through life and be a better person because of something they learned while playing football at Monticello then I will be happy. This won’t make sense to a lot of people, but I hope they learned what 212 really means.

Q: Who are you looking to be the go to guys next year?

A: We will have a lot of key players back next year. I am excited for our line that we have coming back. If they will work hard in the weight room we have some great kids. Jesse Barton, Rhett Adair, Sheldon Wright, Chris Larson, Tyler Ketron, Joseph Weatherford all played a lot of varsity minutes this year so we will have a solid core of senior linemen next year.

Q: Any surprises in the 1A final?

A: No, not really. I knew Kanab would be solid again this year, and Rich was a tough team. I was impressed with both teams.

Q: How dominant is Kanab going to be?

A: Kanab will always be a tough team. They are a football town, with great coaching. Coach Orton has done a great job with his teams, and they will always be a tough team to beat.

Q: Do you think they’ll play for the title every year while they are in 1A?

A: Again, they are a great team, but I don’t think that means they will be in the finals every year.

Q: Should they be in 1A?

A: Yes, they are under the 1A football numbers so yes. 1A is as competitive as it has ever been. Adding Kanab and North Sevier these past couple of years helps the League and I support both teams being in 1A.

San Juan Record

49 South Main St
PO Box 879
Monticello, UT 84535

Phone: 435.587.2277
Fax: 435.587.3377
news@sjrnews.com
Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday