High school football: Copper Hills stays unbeaten, matches best start ever

Don’t look now, but the Copper Hills football team is still undefeated, and coach Darius Matthews is looking for more.

The Grizzlies improved to 4-0 and tied the school record for most consecutive wins in the school’s 31-year history Friday night. The team had multiple heroes in its 33-29 home win over Layton, including a blocked punt and recovery in the end zone by Kome Toilolo that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown with 4:39 left.

“The team has bought in,” Matthews said. “I noticed it last fall when so many of the kids were in the weight room last November (immediately after the 2025 season ended).

“This isn’t like so many of those Copper Hills teams of the past. We didn’t fold at the end. The kids expected to win, and they found a way to do it.”

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The Grizzlies have already convinced their fans following impressive wins over Northridge (29-0), West Jordan (55-7) and Hunter (48-3), but 30 years of futility have made anyone outside their neighborhood more skeptical.

Matthews said he expected a tough battle from Layton, which came in with a 2-1 record and had blanked its last two opponents by a combined score of 77-0.

“It’s no longer about who we’re playing, though,” he said. “It’s about us.”

And Copper Hills isn’t a one-man team.

The Grizzlies got interception returns Friday from Junior Ehounou and Landen Gerona to take a 13-0 lead. However, Layton sophomore quarterback Tillman Thomas kept throwing and eventually took advantage of his opponent’s aggressive nature.

Thomas threw for 196 yards and two long touchdown passes as the Lancers scored three consecutive touchdowns. They then blocked a Copper Hills punt that resulted in another score — and a two-point conversion.

Things looked bleak, in fact, for Copper Hills, but Grizzlies quarterback Skyler Thomas never gave up. He completed his first seven passes of the second half that led to 1-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter and then added a 6-yard strike to Logan Thomas to give his team a chance.

But it was the Copper Hills defense that eventually made the difference. The Grizzlies forced a three-and-out, then intercepted a pass to prevent Layton from pulling away.

Finally, when the Lancers’ Kass Huntsman reciprocated by intercepting a pass near the end zone to stop a Grizzlies’ drive, the defense was forced to step up again.

Facing fourth and 13, Layton was forced to punt from its goal line and Miles Neuteboom rolled to his left for a rugby-style kick. However, Toilolo smothered the attempt, got up and beat two of his teammates to the loose ball in the end zone to make the deciding play.

Layton never recovered, and Copper Hills celebrated the best it knew how.

Matthews hopes wins like this provide enough fuel to help the Grizzlies compete better in region play, which starts next week, knowing they haven’t beaten a league opponent since 2013.