The opening week of the high school football season already brought plenty of anticipation, but Friday night added another layer of intensity as Fremont hosted Weber in a major rivalry matchup between the cross-town schools.
The Silverwolves made sure to put on a show for the home crowd, as Fremont led from start to finish for a dominating 34-3 home victory at Moyes Stadium.
Despite losing so many star players from last year’s team, Fremont simply reloaded as freshman Isaia Fonotisatele led the way with three touchdowns, including a 55-yard punt return in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-3.
“Isaia is a phenomenal player, and we’re blessed to have so many playmakers on this team,” said Fremont head coach Nate Tuatagoloa. “Three touchdowns in your first varsity game is incredible, and we can’t wait to see what he does over the coming years.”
“It was fun,” Fonotisatele said with a big smile on his face when asked about his punt return. “Weber was kicking everything short and that was making me really mad, so when I finally got the opportunity, I made sure to take it to the house.”
Weber had the first big play of the game with a fumble recovery by Carter Kellan, but the Warriors couldn’t take advantage of it as they were forced to punt.
Fremont then struck on its second possession of the game as quarterback Calvin Cooper found Fonotisatele over the middle and the freshman outraced everyone to the end zone to give the Silverwolves a 7-0 lead.
“(Isaia) is really fast and has done track, so we just wanted him to get the ball in space and let him go to work,” said Tuatagoloa. “He played amazing on both sides of the ball and we couldn’t be happier for him.”
It didn’t take long for Fremont to score again. On its next possession, running back Ryder Wade made a guy miss, shook a tackle and then rumbled 47 yards for the score to push the lead to 14-0 with two minutes to go in the first quarter.
Weber was able to get on the board thanks to a shanked punt that gave the Warriors the ball on Fremont’s 22-yard line. The Silverwolves defense kept the Warriors out of the end zone, but Weber managed to kick a 35-yard field goal by Zach Jenkins to cut the deficit to 14-3.
But that’s as close as they would get. After forcing Weber into one of many 3-and-outs, Fremont used its special teams to score next as Fonotisatele took the punt and followed his blockers before racing along the sideline and taking it to the house to push the lead to 21-3 midway through the second quarter.
The rout was on.
A few minutes later, Wade scored on a 4-yard run as the junior scored his second touchdown on the day. On the ensuing kickoff, the Silverwolves caught the Warriors napping with a squib kick, but Weber’s defense made a stand.
Weber’s defense was on the field for much of the game as its offense couldn’t get anything going. Despite forcing several turnovers and making several fourth down stops, the Warrior defense wore down as the game went on.
Fremont then tacked on another touchdown at the end thanks to its defense. Aisa Tuatagaloa snagged an interception on a tipped pass to give the Silverwolves great field possession. A couple of plays later, Cooper found Fonotisatele for a 39-yard touchdown strike as the freshman outran the entire Warrior defense again for his third touchdown of the game.
With the win, Fremont extends its rivalry win streak to three and will look to stay unbeaten next week when it takes on Davis.
With the loss, Weber will look to bounce back in its home opener against Brighton.