RANDOLPH, Utah — Prior to the season, the Rich High School basketball team sets goals for the year.

One of those goals is to win the Class 1 regional championship and earn a No. 1 seed at the UHSSA state championship. 

The next goal is to bring home a state title. 

“Every year our goal is to win a state championship, and it’s no different for these guys,” Rich coach Ashley Brown said. “That’s what they want and hopefully they work hard enough that they can accomplish that.”

Rich went 26-4 last season and earned a third-place finish at the 2017 state championship after claiming a 51-36 win against Bryce Valley.

The Rebels opened tournament play by cruising to a 59-40 win against Parowan, before claiming a 48-34 victory against Tintic in the quarterfinals. Rich then suffered a 71-65 loss to Valley in the semifinals, before bouncing back in the third-place game. 

The Rebels graduated five seniors from last year’s team, including second-team All-State selection Payson Willis. During his senior year, the 6-foot-3 forward averaged 10.8 points per game and scored a season-high 26 points against Manila on Jan. 6.

Despite being a younger team, the Rebels have their eyes set on that championship game this season. 

“I feel like as the season goes on, we’ll just get better and better,” Rich senior Nick Jarmon said. “This team has a very good chemistry, so as the season goes on we’ll continue to play better. I feel like we have a good chance at state this year.”

The Rebels do have some firepower returning, and it starts with Jarman. The 6-foot-5 center earned first-team All-State honors as a junior after averaging 15.1 points and 15 rebounds per game last season. Jarman, a three-year starter, was also second-team All-State selection as a sophomore. 

Also returning is Aaron Smith, a 5-foot-10 guard who was named to the Class 1 All-State honorable mention team after averaging 10 points per game. 

“We’ll improve every game,” Smith said. “That’s the goal.”

While the Rebels are young in experience, they bring back six seniors from last year that saw some varsity minutes. 

Smith, Jarman, Jordan Cook and Kamran Calder are all slated to start, while Porter Weston and Kinnen Clark will rotate in the starting lineup. Juniors Jared Anderson and Kasin Trenery will also see significant playing time off the bench this season for the Rebels.

“Our younger guys work really, really hard,” Jarman said. “They can come off the bench and play well.”

With Jarman’s inside presence, the Rebels will be able to adjust their offense on a given night based on the opponent they are playing.

“I think one of our biggest strengths is we can play inside-out or we can play outside-in,” Brown said. “We’re not one dimensional by any means. We’ve got kids that can score inside, and we’ve got kids that can shoot the ball well from the perimeter. We’re very balanced in that aspect and it makes us a better team because of that.”

Rich opened the season Dec. 1 and rolled to a 55-37 win against Providence Hall before suffering a 50-45 loss to Grand County on Dec. 2. 

“I’m very pleased with the first two games,” Brown said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better.”

Rich is back in action at 2:30 p.m. today when the Rebels host Valley in a non-conference game. They take on Piute on the road at 3 p.m. Saturday and won’t be back in action until Jan. 4 for a 7 p.m. home game against Bear Lake.

NOTE: Rich took on Bear Lake on Thursday. Results were not available as of press time.