Jaylon Vickers was quiet and kept to himself when he first arrived at his new school, preferring the Meek Mill tracks in the headphones he always seemed to be wearing to conversation with his new teammates.
But the East High senior finally is ready to make some noise.
Vickers played a key role in the Leopard’s 42-10 victory over Timpview in their season opener, catching a touchdown pass and running back an interception for a score. Now the defensive back and wide receiver hopes to have just as big a role when his new team faces off against his old team in a Friday night matchup of Utah’s marquee prep football programs.
“It should be fun,” said Vickers, who transferred from Bingham to East for his senior season. “It will be a good game.”
EAST AT BINGHAM <br>When • 7 p.m. Friday <br>TV • KMYU
The 5-foot-9 Vickers said it was a difficult decision to leave Bingham. In the end, he decided to go to East, where his father works.
East coach Brandon Matich is glad he did.
“He’s new to football,” the coach said about Vickers, who started playing high school football as a junior. “He’s a talented guy, but he’s still learning the game. You watch his film at Bingham last year, and he was good. This year, going through workouts and summer camp and where he is now, he gets better every week and he gets more confident every week. I think he’s a budding superstar. I think it’ll be a fun thing to watch this year.”
Vickers’ time at East may have started quietly, but the senior said he’s getting comfortable.
“I’m just around good teammates,” he said. “They broke me out of my shell.”
Vickers broke out last week on the field. Against Timpview, he picked off two passes, running one back about 70 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring for East. In the second quarter, Vickers settled under a pass from quarterback Ben Ford that was good for 50 yards and six more points.
“We’re not really a throwing team,” Vickers said. “To have him throw me that ball was something special.”
This week, Vickers is anxious to match up with his old team, and East is anxious to test itself.
“We’ve been trying to play them for several years,” Matich said. “It just never worked out. We tried to play them at the end of last year. I think everyone wanted to see that game. We had a lot of people on board to make that happen, and they didn’t want to do it. They had their reasons.”
East moved up a classification this season and, to make sure the Miners made their schedule, agreed to play the game at Bingham.
“Our kids really want to have that chance,” Matich said. “It’s going to be a measuring stick to see where we’re at. Do we belong at this level? I think the answer is yes, but we’re going to find out pretty quick.”
He thinks people will find out about Vickers, too.
WEEK 2 SCHEDULE <br>Thursday <br>Jordan at Syracuse <br>Friday <br>Altamont at Lyman (Wyo.), 4 p.m. <br>Grantsville vs. Minico (Idaho) at Idaho State, 5:30 p.m. <br>Lone Peak at Dixie <br>Desert Hills at Salem Hills <br>Springville at Spanish Fork <br>East at Bingham <br>Payson at Carbon <br>Cedar City at Juab <br>Rock Point (Ariz.) at Whitehorse <br>Stansbury at Taylorsville <br>Woods Cross at Alta <br>Ogden at Preston (Idaho) <br>Morgan at South Summit <br>Westlake at Provo <br>Box Elder at Bear River <br>Kanab at Beaver <br>Monticello at Wayne <br>Layton at Highland <br>Mountain View at Timpanogos <br>West Jordan at Kearns <br>Weber at Roy <br>Maple Mountain at Uintah <br>Park City at Logan <br>Layton Christian at American Leadership <br>Wasatch at Mountain Crest <br>Sky View at Tooele <br>Bountiful at Hunter <br>Hillcrest at Brighton <br>West at Cyprus <br>Ridgeline at Snow Canyon <br>North Sanpete at Union <br>Gunnison Valley at North Sevier <br>Olympus at Granger <br>Grand County at Montezuma-Cortez (Colo.) <br>White Pine (Nev.) at Milford <br>Parowan at Millard <br>Cottonwood at Clearfield <br>Summit Academy at Emery <br>Duchesne at North Summit <br>Pine View at Lehi <br>Judge Memorial at Juan Diego <br>Timpview at American Fork <br>Manti at Delta <br>Bonneville at Northridge <br>Pleasant Grove at Fremont <br>South Sevier at Richfield <br>Herriman at Helix (Calif.) <br>Rich at Bear Lake (Idaho) <br>Viewmont at Davis<br>San Juan at Bayfield (Colo.) <br>Copper Hills at Ben Lomond <br>Christian (Calif.) at Hurricane <br>Skyridge at Murray <br>Riverton at Corner Canyon <br>Canyon View at Virgin Valley (Nev.) <br>Green Canyon vs. Shelley (Idaho), 8:15 p.m. <br>Saturday <br>Sutter (Calif.) at Orem, 4 p.m. <br><br>* — All games at 7 p.m. unless indicated