Prep football: Ed Larson excited to take reins at Lehi

Newly hired Lehi football coach Ed Larson knows he is walking away from a good situation by leaving Timpanogos for the Pioneers. But the allure of coaching a program with one of the largest incoming talent pools was too much to turn down.

"I think Lehi might have the largest little league program in the state," Larson said. "I think there's over 700 kids in the little league program each year, and that's the lifeblood of a program."

Lehi has failed to win many games over the past decade, despite the large base of incoming players. Outgoing coach Dave Hastings led the Pioneers to a 5-5 record this past season before being asked to step down due to differences with the administration. Before that, the Pioneers hadn't won more than two games since 2004.

Even so, Larson, who was an assistant coach at BYU, Weber State and Dixie State before spending the last four years with Timpanogos — where he compiled a 23-21 record — sees a chance to turn Lehi into a consistently winning program.

"There's no question Coach Hastings has done a great job," Larson said. "We want to build on his success. I think as a football coach, you look at it as a great opportunity, no matter where [the program] is coming from. You want to put your stamp on the program, and have it develop. I don't think there's any doubt there's a lot of talent there."

Bubba Brown