Wasatch welcomes Spanish Fork to Region 7 with 4th-quarter comeback
Spanish Fork’s Jordan Bunnell spelled trouble for Wasatch in the region opener as he reached the end zone twice in the first half. The Dons’ defense, meanwhile, kept the Wasps away from the end zone and allowed just a field goal in the second quarter.
After trailing 14-5 heading into the fourth quarter, the Wasps shut out Spanish Fork and scored 10 points to seal the 15-14 Region 7 victory.
“It was a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback,” first-year Wasatch head coach Derik Bringhurst said. “The team overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat Spanish Fork. The defense adjusted by forcing the left-handed quarterback to his right, while the offense found its rhythm just in time — setting up a key field goal and a touchdown. Special teams also delivered in the clutch. It was a true team effort and a win to remember."
Wasatch’s defense ended the second quarter with what ended up being a game-winning safety, which brought the game within 14-5 at halftime.
The Wasps’ defense continued its clutch play in the second half and didn’t allow a single Dons point. Wasatch’s Jay Bradley finally got the offense its first and only touchdown of the night on a 6-yard pass to Cache Coombs.
The touchdown put the Wasps back in striking position, but they still trailed 14-12. It was Austin Wilde who capped off the game with a 33-yard field goal with just under two minutes left to take the 15-14 lead. Wilde also hit a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
The win puts Wasatch at 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in Region 7.
Box Elder’s defense holds on to preserve unbeaten record
There was not a lot of offense to be had in Friday’s Region 5 matchup between Northridge and Box Elder, despite the stark differences between how the two teams started the season.
Northridge is still searching for its first win of the season after losses to Copper Hills and Layton in weeks one and two. Meanwhile, Box Elder is sitting pretty with a 4-0 record with dominant wins over Deseret Peak, Layton and Bear River.
That’s why it was all the more shocking when the Bees trailed 3-0 late in the fourth quarter. While its usually-hot offense was ice-cold, the defense held Northridge to just a field goal, which kept Box Elder in the game.
“I can’t say enough about our defense,” said Box Elder head coach Carson Mund. “They were incredible and kept us in the game all night.”
After trailing the entire game, Box Elder’s offense finally had an offensive drive down to the Northridge one-yard line. Kadyn Reyes ran into the end zone with just 4:32 remaining for the sole touchdown of the night and preserved the Bees’ undefeated record.
“Offensively, it wasn’t clean, but the guys never lost confidence,” Mund said. “To see them finally execute and finish late in the game says a lot about their resilience.”
Manti recovers from sloppy first quarter in rout of Juab
Things did not look good for Manti after the first Juab offensive drive. Only 46 in-game seconds had passed before Juab’s Price Armstrong connected with Jaden Heap for a 69-yard touchdown reception. Manti answered with a touchdown on the following drive, but Juab pushed its lead further with another first-quarter touchdown.
From there, the game was all Manti.
The Templars scored 21 points in each of the second and third quarters for six consecutive unanswered touchdowns.
Manti’s Carter Mason had a particularly nice night, finishing with 284 passing yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Stone Mortensen was a recipient on one touchdown pass and added another on a 45-yard interception return in the second quarter.
The Templars’ defense looked night-and-day after the first quarter. They gave up only one touchdown in the fourth quarter, but not until Manti had already led 49-12.
“I’m incredibly proud of our boys. They showed relentless effort and true resilience after falling behind early. Juab is a tough, well-coached team, and for us to respond the way we did, especially in our region opener, speaks volumes about the character and toughness of this group. They never flinched, stayed together and kept fighting,” said Manti coach Fred Taukei’aho.
After losing 51-45 to Pine View in Week 1, the Templars have now won three in-a-row and started region play with a win.
Richfield dominates North Sanpete in region opener
For nearly 42 minutes on Friday, previously undefeated North Sanpete didn’t score a single point. This year’s Hawks squad dominated its preseason schedule under its new head coach: longtime Bingham coach Dave Peck.
The Wildcats completely shut North Sanpete down and led 28-0 after three quarters of play. The offense started early with two touchdowns, including an 82-yard run from Cordon White.
The domination continued as a blocked kick at the end of the third quarter resulted in Richfield’s fourth touchdown of the night.
“Very pleased with the players’ work effort in starting the game strong,” said Richfield head coach Eric Thorson. “A lot of underclassmen stepped up to play their best. This is a very young team, but very coachable and always giving their best effort.”
North Sanpete finally scored twice in the fourth quarter on two touchdown passes from Maddox Madsen to Chaetton Osborne. But by the time the Hawks got anything going on offense, the game was out of reach.
Richfield looks to reclaim the 3A throne this year after being unseated by Morgan last year.
Duchesne takes down undefeated Beaver
Beaver had one of the best first three weeks of any 1A team, particularly after its week two victory over 2A powerhouse San Juan.
While the Beavers waltzed into week four undefeated, Duchesne made sure it left with a blemish on the roster after it narrowly beat Beaver 24-23 on Friday.
It was back and forth through the first half, but the Eagles held a slim 17-14 halftime lead after Alec Thomas hit a field goal just before time ran out.
Things started to slip for Duchesne in the second half as it gave up 10 unanswered points and trailed 24-17 with just less than five minutes remaining in the game.
“Obviously, it was a tough, hard-fought game on both sides,” said Duchesne head coach Tom Clark. “We led the whole game up until about the last four minutes, when they scored. We had made long drives all night so I just told them, ‘Let’s do it one more time and go win it.’ The kids made plays and we had a great defensive stand to end the game.”
With less than two minutes left, Duchesne quarterback Nashden Goodliffe got the go-ahead points on a 31-yard touchdown run for the win. Goodliffe led the Eagles with two rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown.