RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A football is pictured at Skyridge High School in Lehi on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.
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Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Week 2 of the Utah high school football season featured plenty of rivalry games, comebacks and wild finishes. Here are a few notes and highlights from some of those games.
Box Elder holds off surging rival
Box Elder has high expectations of this year’s senior-heavy group, and the experience showed up late in its game with rival Bear River.
The Bees trailed 34-30 at the end of the third quarter and were on the verge of a disappointing loss, but late heroics kept Box Elder ahead for the 50-34 road win.
The Bear River offense was flowing through the first three quarters. Quarterback Preston Wilkinson threw three touchdown passes and added another on the ground for the lead. While Box Elder was keeping up, its defense had to stop the Bears.
The Bees’ defense did its job in the fourth quarter, holding Bear River to zero points after the Bears previously scored 20 in the third quarter.
Then, the senior-led offense took over.
Box Elder quarterback Kadyn Reyes retook the lead with an 11-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, then extended the lead with a touchdown pass to Pierre Pierren .
A final touchdown run from Judd Howells completed a dominant fourth quarter in which Box Elder outscored Bear River 20-0.
“I want to give a lot of credit to our offensive line and our offense as a whole,” said Box Elder coach Carson Mund. “They played a great game against a Bear River team that came in with a really good plan and made things difficult for us.
“I’m proud of the way our guys responded. They never stopped battling, they stayed together, and they continued to play for one another. That’s what this group has done throughout their football journey, and it’s special to see that same bond and commitment continue. I couldn’t be more proud of the way they competed and represented our program.”
Grantsville completes fourth quarter comeback
Despite an early 95-yard kick return from Grantsville’s Graeson Warren , Richfield dominated through three quarters of Friday’s game.
Grantsville’s offense struggled to get going against Richfield’s defense, while the Wildcats’ offense piled on 24 points.
However, a clutch fourth-quarter comeback resulted in the Cowboys taking a 31-24 win.
“We struggled that first half,” said Grantsville head coach David Millward. “I give Richfield a lot of credit. At halftime, we talked about just doing our jobs and trusting each other. We could have very easily given up.”
The third quarter was slow going, but Grantsville made a little progress by shutting out Richfield and scoring a field goal. Still, the Cowboys trailed 24-10 heading into the fourth.
Finally, the offense broke through as Cowboys quarterback Crew Allred finished with three fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
It started with an early pass into the end zone to Ty Holm , but even then, Grantsville still trailed 24-17 until late in the fourth quarter.
With three minutes remaining, Allred threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Dunlevy to tie it 24-24.
The Cowboys avoided going to overtime as the defense got the offense the ball back, and Allred yet again came up big with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Beck Mondragon for the win.
“We played with a lot of heart that second half,” said Millward. “We made enough plays to get the win. I could not be more proud of the trust the players showed in each other and their effort to come back from such a big deficit.”
Weber survives on late heroics
Brighton had all the makings of an incredible comeback after trailing early. However, Weber had no intention of letting that happen and utilized a strong fourth quarter to take the 38-31 victory.
It started with Warriors quarterback Carter Payne connecting on back-to-back-to-back touchdown passes in the first half, two of which were from more than 50 yards out.
The early offense gave Weber a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter, though Brighton started to show resistance with 10 unanswered points before Weber pushed its lead further with a 99-yard kickoff return from Bracken Day with just 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
After the break, Brighton capitalized on Weber turnovers and mental mistakes, scoring 18 unanswered points.
Meanwhile, the Weber offense was held scoreless, and the Bengals took a 31-28 lead.
“At half we went at it with a 0-0 mentality and had a pooch kick that caused some momentum shift,” said Weber coach Mo Cannon. “The whole job was to respond and not let the bad hurt us more.
“The two most detrimental things to a football team (are) penalties and turnovers. We need to get that cleaned up to get to what we want to be.”
Weber responded with a field goal early in the fourth to tie it, but plenty of time remained. Payne yet again delivered for Weber with a third touchdown pass to Creed Devries with just under three minutes remaining.
“What a turnaround from us last week,” Cannon said. “The message all week was physicality and execution, and the boys responded.”
Skyline wins Battle of the Rock
There was no offense to be had in the first half of Friday’s rivalry game between Skyline and Olympus. The only points came from a safety at the hands of the Olympus defense.
So when halftime hit, Skyline coach Brandon Matich knew something needed to change, and quarterback Tate Johnson stepped up.
Johnson scored the first touchdown of the game early in the third quarter, then scored on the next drive on another 12-yard run, which gave the Eagles a 14-2 lead.
“We challenged them at half to just take the short throws and be on time,” Matich said. “Tate Johnson did an amazing job of stepping up and making plays.”
A pick-six from Olympus’ Sam Ngata in the fourth quarter kept it within a touchdown, but a 32-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Tu’i Will put the game out of reach.
While Olympus scored a touchdown with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, it was the on...
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