Westfield opens season with a dominant win
In its first season of operation a year ago, Westfield struggled all year. The Longhorns finished with a 1-10 record and ranked near the bottom of 4A in both offense and defense.
The Westfield offense averaged only 14.82 points per game while its defense gave up an average of 38.91 points per game.
After Friday’s opening night, the Longhorns have already matched last year’s win total with a dominant 48-0 road win over Taylorsville.
Sophomore quarterback Easton Eilertson threw for 248 yards with a 64% completion percentage and scoring four touchdowns in the air and one on the ground.
Boston Kap also had two rushing touchdowns and tallied a total of 123 rushing yards on just three carries. The bulk of Kap’s yardage came from an 82-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Kap’s second touchdown came on a 38-yard run in the third quarter.
The Longhorns defense also tallied four sacks and one interception in the dominant win.
Friday’s win marks Westfield’s highest scoring game and its first-ever shutout of an opponent.
Richfield holds off 4A opponent
It has been nearly 30 years since Dixie and Richfield faced off, and in that 1996 game the Flyers dominated the Wildcats 48-14.
Dixie and Richfield have played a total of eight times since the first game between the two schools in 1966. In every game, the Flyers won handily over Richfield.
However, the Wildcats finally got one over Dixie on Friday as they earned a convincing 24-14 win.
The score stayed within seven points through a large chunk of the game. Richfield was quick to score in the opening minute with a 12-yard run from Trey Yardley.
But then both offenses stagnated and neither team scored for the remainder of the first half. Richfield finally extended its lead early in the third quarter on a touchdown run from Colton White.
Dixie was quick to respond and finally got points on the board with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Riker Muhlestein to Deacon Virgin.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, Richfield then started to run away with it.
The Wildcats scored 10 unanswered points between a field goal from Justin Raisor late in the third quarter and a touchdown pass from Aiden Olsen to Cordon White midway through the fourth quarter.
Dixie didn’t have time to mount a comeback as its second touchdown didn’t come until there was only 46 seconds left in the game.
Salem Hills gets big win in season opener
The Skyhawks of Salem Hills scheduled a strong opponent in Week 1 with Region 11’s Sky View in town for the season opener. The Bobcats had a semifinal finish in 2024 and their offense returned eight starters from last year.
Salem Hills and Sky View have played every year since 2022 but the Skyhawks had never won — that was, until Friday.
It was back-and-forth from the start with the two schools trading touchdowns in the first quarter. However, Sky View got the slim 14-6 lead after the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ryder Hales to Peyton Higginson and a 32-yard field goal from Ammon Butler put Salem Hills at a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Sky View regained the lead quickly in the third quarter on a touchdown run from Xander Stokes.
The Skyhawks started to find some separation with back-to-back unanswered scores, giving it a 30-21 lead.
Sky View gave itself a chance with a touchdown with 5:22 left, but Salem Hills held it off for the 30-28 win.
It was a big night for wide receiver and safety Higginson as he tallied two touchdowns with 123 receiving yards on seven receptions. He also pulled in an interception in the win.
Quarterback Hales also threw for 339 yards on a 68% completion percentage and threw no interceptions.
Murray skates by Uintah in overtime thriller
October 1986 was the last time Murray and Uintah faced off, and Friday’s game was one that won’t be easily forgotten.
It was a close affair all night and Murray and Uintah took turns scoring through most of regulation. Uintah often got it done offensively in the air with quarterback Landon Woods finishing Friday’s game with four touchdowns.
While scores were traded, Murray more often than not struggled to score its PATs. The Spartans failed to score PATs on three of their five touchdowns in regulation, which allowed Uintah keep the game tied 25-25 after three quarters despite scoring one less touchdown.
Murray took a 35-28 lead with 4:38 left on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Phil Holland to Carson Davis, but Uintah kept its hope alive as it scored with two minutes left on a pass from Woods to Dace Olsen and pushed the season opener to overtime.
Murray had the ball first and scored on a 25-yard pass from Holland and played it safe with a completed PAT.
However, Uintah also scored after a 12-yard run from Woods. The Utes had a decision to make — would they go for one and try to get a stop in a second overtime or go for the win?
Uintah made the gutsy call to go for two, but Murray’s defense held the Utes out of the end zone and earned it the 39-38 win in its first matchup with the Utes in 39 years.
Herriman withstands defending 5A champion on the road
Last year, the Bountiful Redhawks broke a 19-year championship drought with a 42-35 5A championship win over Roy. Bountiful graduated a large chunk of its production from last year and is hoping to prove its still a threat in 5A.
Herriman, on the other hand, has been trying to recapture its success from its 2015 championship to middling success. The Mustangs have had only one season above .500 since its championship year, which was in 2019 where they finished 9-3.
Last season, Herriman finished with a 3-8 record and in fourth place in Region 2.
The Mustangs started their season on the right foot as they cruised to a dominant 27-7 win over Bountiful on Friday.
It was consistent pressure on both sides of the ball that earned Herriman its win. The Mustangs scored a touchdown in all four quarters and got their scoring started with an 80-yard interception return from Troy Ellermeier just four minutes into the game.
Senior quarterback Tyler Messer completed two long touchdown passes, the first coming in the third quarter on a 46-yard pass to Hayes Priest and the second in the fourth quarter on a 49-yard pass to Cooper Grundy.
The Herriman defense was dominant all night long as it tallied seven sacks and one interception on the night.
Bountiful narrowly escaped the shutout with a touchdown run from Siaki Fekitoa.