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Murray • Mike Richmond chooses to remember because he can't forget. The mornings spent sprinting in the dark. The much-needed lifting sessions as players inched by their limits. Film analysis. The implementation of a game plan that just might work. The Murray Spartans covered their bases the best they could.
But on 17 occasions over the last two years, Richmond took a similar stride into the locker room. Their faces awaited him. They'd done what he'd asked of them for months, and 17 times he faced another explanation of why, on a Friday night in front of families and friends, they'd fallen short.
"Those nights," said Richmond, a former University of Utah quarterback in his third year as head coach at Murray, "were the tough times."
They've grown synonymous with Murray football, a program that last won a state championship in 1977. Subpar became commonplace. The Spartans had won 10 games since 2006, managing just one victory in each of their last three seasons. Since 2000, Murray was 40-100. The number of winning seasons during that stretch: one. The Spartans finished 6-4 in 2004, emerging as region co-champions.
When Richmond took over in December 2011, the blueprint for success was extensive. The team didn't have an identity, didn't have sizable pool of players to choose from and didn't have the caliber of athletes in shape necessary to compete in the burgeoning 4A realm. Murray still can't field a junior varsity team.
In 2012 and 2013, the Spartans' familiar sound track repeated. Dealt a sliver of adversity, the foundation started to crumble. Losses piled up. Heads hung.
"In the past, it was hard not to look forward to the future, to not look at our senior year," senior receiver Riley Richmond said. "After losses, it seems that no one cared. It didn't seem like we'd just lost. You couldn't have been able to tell in the locker room. And we were getting blown out and it never seemed like we were in games."
This was the year for change. On Aug. 22, Murray hosted 5A Lehi. In last year's season opener, the Pioneers put up a 60-spot on the Spartans and won by 40 points. This year, the Spartans raced out to a 15-0 point lead. Unlike in previous seasons, when the opposition rallied, Murray didn't crack. It responded. The Spartans outscored the Pioneers 37-15 the rest of the way. They won, 49-29, and got that one win, and got it out of the way.
Mike Richmond, his staff and players took a deep breath. Everything they'd seen in the offseason was, in fact, a tell-tale sign of things to come, not an aberration. The offense, spearheaded by 6-foot-3 quarterback Drew Cash and dynamic running back Taylor Litson, was potent. A trio of receivers in Richmond, Mitch Rasmussen and Isaiah Gibson emerged as versatile options. The defense continually went after the quarterback.
It's continued on. Murray is 3-2, having already matched its win total from the last three seasons combined. The Spartans won their first region game since 2010, a 38-7 victory over Orem on Sept. 12, and have their sights firmly set on the postseason.
"They come in on Monday and the kids around the school that have teased them in the past are patting them on the back now," Mike Richmond said. "But we've said, 'Hey, don't let too many people jump on that bandwagon. We need to keep believing, keep doing what you're doing and don't let your head get inflated.'"
Mason Burnett won't allow it. The senior linebacker credited the turnaround of the program to the familiarity of the players. Richmond coached most of these seniors, juniors and sophomores in the Ute Conference program in Murray. Might be hard to believe considering how the last two seasons have gone, but as youngsters these Spartans won — a lot. Richmond's noticed the confidence carried by this core of players, saying they carry "a different swagger" that previous groups didn't have.
"We know how to win," Burnett said. "We know what we can do."
The next challenge on the checklist is keeping this upstart group grounded in order to ensure the wins don't soon fade away. Richmond's motto, he explained jokingly, is "by no means overconfident." And Region 7 isn't a guarantee. Corner Canyon is 6-0, Skyline is 5-1 and the Spartans will have to contend with Olympus, Timpanogos and Mountain View if they want to make their first postseason appearance since 2006.
"We don't let them take [the start] for granted," Richmond said. "It is a group of kids that, not too long ago, were on the opposite end of those scores."
Like most of his teammates, Litson was a contributor as a freshman and again as a sophomore during the Spartans' seemingly endless struggles. He's morphed into an all-around tailback and safety as one of the few two-way starters Murray has. But he isn't letting five games get to his head.
"Being part of the turnaround helps us start off the turnaround," he said. "We're going to change stuff."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Murray football since 2004
2004 • 6-4 (Last region title, co-champions, lost at home in first round)
2005 • 4-7 (Lost away in first round)
2006 • 5-6 (Lost away in first round)
2007 • 1-8
2008 • 0-10
2009 • 3-6
2010 • 3-6
2011 • 1-9
2012 • 1-9 (Mike Richmond's first year)
2013 • 1-8
2014 • 3-2 —
Spartans leading the turnaround
QB Drew Cash • 74 for 143, 1,066 yards, 13 TDs, three interceptions
RB Taylor Liston • 47 carries, 334 yards, 3 TDs, 169 yards receiving
WR Mitch Rasmussen • 33 receptions 359 yards, four touchdowns
WR Riley Richmond • 13 receptions, 334 yards, 5 TDs
WR Isaiah Gibson • 22 receptions, 323 yards, 6 TDs
DL Brock Acord • 42 total tackles