This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Everything around American Fork's football team this season is new: the coach, the offense, the defense, the quarterback.

As the 5A program struggled to overcome all those things, losing got pretty old.

The Cavemen started 0-3 after losses to 3A Cedar City, 4A Timpanogos and Cottonwood.

"After Cottonwood, we figured out that losing wasn't what we wanted to do," senior receiver Trevor Hemsley said.

First-year coach Aaron Behm, 28, got his first win in Week 4 against Cyprus, but the biggest barometer of the Cavemen's progress came last week in the region opener. Behm's option offense finally started clicking, despite four turnovers, and by a score of 29-24 beat Jordan, which started 3-0 against good teams.

After falling behind by 10 in the second half to the Beetdiggers, American Fork marched down on its next offensive series to tighten the margin.

"At that point, our whole team just realized we were running all over them and playing like a good team should be," said lineman Ryker Mathews, who earlier in the game returned a fumble 63 yards for a touchdown.

For American Fork, the attention turns to whether it can play like a good team for the rest of its season which includes road games at Alta and Brighton.

It seems like a long shot, but if quarterback Ryan Pitcher continues to grow in the new option offense and the team can avoid the fumbles, players are confident they can keep winning games.

"I think we're a great team, and I think we have the ability to win out," senior safety Nathan Cummings said. "But we're not looking there right now."

They're also not looking backward.

If they did, they probably wouldn't like what they saw in their first few disjointed games.

"If we go back and watch our first film we'll see a whole different team," said Behm, who previously was a JV coach for six years in the Chicago suburbs.

In the 23-0 loss at Cedar, Behm said, American Fork got away from its new offensive mindset, and reverted to the traditional one taught by former coach Davis Knight.

"Coach Knight had been running the same offense for so long that everybody knew what it was," Hemsley said.

A systemic change to an option offense was difficult for some players to adjust to, especially receivers, who realized they weren't going to get thrown to as much, Hemsley said.

The biggest insult, however, was watching a team the Cavemen beat 51-19 in 2009 run an offense similar to its own — but better.

"Cedar showed us what a true option looks like," Cummings said.

More than a month later, Behm isn't ready to say his team could start filming instructional videos on the option, but it's getting better.

"It's definitely a rhythm that you have to get into," he said.

It's good for Behm that the offense is starting to work. It cost him quarterback Chase Hansen, who transferred to Lone Peak, in part because he didn't want to play in an option scheme.

Much like the three losses, though, that is merely a memory for the Cavemen. That's because of the emergence of Pitcher, who last week completed eight passes for 187 yards, while the team rushed for 196 yards.

There's been a lot to overcome for the team, and especially for Behm as he learns to be a head coach. There are some things he has already figured out, though. Such as how much better it feels to win.

"Makes for a much better weekend," he said.

boram@sltrib.com On Twitter: @oramb @tribpreps —

Cavemen make progress

Cedar 23 Am. Fork 0

Timpanogos 17 Am. Fork 7

Cottonwood 40 Am. Fork 20

Am. Fork 35 Cyprus 17

Am. Fork 29 Jordan 24 —

Next up

American Fork at Pleasant Grove, 7 p.m. Friday