With Week 2 now in the books, here are some of the most intriguing results from last Friday night’s slate of high school football.
Is it Timpview’s Turn?
Last year, despite the prevailing talent and depth that went across the top tier of 6A squads, there was a strong argument for then-5A school Lehi as the best football team in the state in 2022, thanks to the Pioneers’ 14-0 record. As part of that undefeated run, Lehi pulled off wins against more than one of the best 6A had to offer, knocking off Corner Canyon, Davis and Fremont.
They’re not perfect, but the Timpview Thunderbirds, who pushed Lehi to three overtimes in the 5A championship last season, look like they’re prepared to fill in as this season’s 5A juggernaut. The T-Birds, in their second straight week of playing against a Region 3 team, claimed a win over Lone Peak, 31-28, pulling ahead for good in the fourth quarter with a short field goal.
In Week 1, Timpview held its ground well in what was a losing effort against defending 6A champion Skyridge.
Looking forward, the T-Birds have a few more tough tests, including a road trip westward to take on Los Alamitos in California. The Griffins were 9-3 last season and went to the CIF Southern Section Playoffs.
Northridge looks ready
With one win, Northridge bucked two different trends.
The Knights halted their rivalry losing streak to their bigger brother (student body-wise), the Layton Lancers, with a 27-13 win, the first time they’ve beaten the Lancers since 2019.
Along with that, Northridge began its season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2015, when Erik Thompson, now at Ogden, was strolling the sidelines wearing crimson.
Layton appeared to take control late in the second half with a 30-yard pick-six from Ian Overton for the 13-7 lead, but after halftime, the Knights shut the Lancers down completely, scoring 20 unanswered points, including a safety in the third quarter.
“Defense did a great job of not giving up a TD all night,” Knights coach Andrew Fresques said. “Special teams forced some turnovers and offense made plays when needed. We know that no one is going to give us respect. We have to go out there and earn it. Proud of this great group of young men and the coaching staff.”
Northridge was already feeling fiery after a 43-0 smackdown of Murray in the first week, and they’ll have a lot of momentum as a possibly favored team in a matchup with Kearns this Friday before region play starts.
Do you like the ‘View’?
In just two years, Canyon View has transformed from a perennial losing program into perhaps the scariest team in 3A, and the Falcons further proved that point by shaking off a losing streak nearly as old as the school itself.
Canyon View beat nonregion rival Pine View for the first time since 2000 with a 55-41 shootout highlighted by the Falcons’ unstoppable offense. The Falcons racked up 628 total yards, 400 of which came from senior QB Jaxon Jensen, who had six combined touchdowns. The Falcons rushed for 283 yards.
Canyon View’s return to 3A after being thrust into 4A last realignment has been a huge success for the program, which is entering its second season under head coach Burke Miller. Miller is already 10-4 with the program that was historically 54-186 all-time before he took over.
“The key to our progress since I have taken over as head coach is believing in what and who we are,” Miller said. “(We’re) establishing an identity with confidence. We have set lofty goals for our team and provided a plan to accomplish those goals. The kids have done an excellent job of following the path to accomplish those goals.”
It’s no small deal that the Falcons have one of the deadliest offenses in the state this season. They are one of just four teams in the state to have scored 100+ points already, and for the moment, they lead the state in scoring at 56.0 ppg.
“As far as our offense goes, we try to have a great plan each week, and all the credit goes to the boys for their study and dedication to being the best they can be,” Miller said. “This is a great group of kids that stays after practices to put in extra work and studies their opponent on film. We simply have great leadership and that makes all the difference.”
The Falcons’ schedule just gets progressively harder in nonregion, presumably. They’ll be up against Cedar City this Friday, a team that just knocked off Juab last Friday.
ALA has a whole new look
It took nine weeks of football in 2022 for American Leadership to get over 50 total points for the season. With new head coach Lance Burrell patrolling the sidelines, the Eagles of 2023 just hit 50 points in one game.
ALA, led by star running back Kannon Huntsman, hit the half-century mark in a blowout win over Parowan, 50-22. The win stopped a 19-game losing streak for the program, and the last time the Eagles were on the right side of a blowout win (say, over 20 points) was 2020.
Huntsman has been one of the biggest revelations in 2A football this season with six rushing TDs in two games, half the number of total carries he had last season. In addition to him, ALA’s defense, which allowed the most points in the state last year (53.0 ppg) actually helped the Eagles put more points up with a 50-yard pick-six.
“Our team competed hard,” Burrell said. “They had great effort, attitude and toughness. I asked them this week to practice and to play not for the moment, but to set the standard for how they want practice and games to look when they come back 10 years from now. We have a long way to go, but it is a good start. I love our team.”
ALA gets to test the 1A field one more time taking on North Summit this Friday before the 2A opponents come to town.
Bees for the win
In a wild quarterfinal game in 5A last year, it took two fourth-quarter TDs for undefeated Lehi to move past a plucky Box Elder team.
Now, in Week 2, Box Elder’s 2-0 start shows just how much momentum was still left in the tank after last year. The Bees just happened to get to this point with last-minute heroics of their own as Dax Sumko ran in the 20th rushing TD of his career with just 19 seconds remaining to seal a win for the Bees over Mountain Crest. The win sealed a 2-0 start for the Bees for the first time since 2018.
With the recent strings of success, longtime head coach Robbie Gunter is getting close to breaking even on his overall coaching record with the school, which currently stands at 77-84.