The opening Friday night of the high school football season is in the books, and there was no shortage of outstanding games around the state.
Here’s a few notes and highlights from some of those games.
Instant classic
Snow Canyon’s 64-62 triple-overtime win over Spanish Fork on Friday night was an absolute barn burner — the definition of an instant classic.
“It felt a lot more like a basketball game than a football game, that’s for sure,” said first-year Snow Canyon coach Zach Tauteoli. “They would take a punch, we’d feel that punch and then kind of punch back, and then we just ended up on our end kind of a little more resilient.”
The teams combined for 1,014 yards, most of those through the air — 784.
Individually, there were some elite performances. Spanish Fork quarterback Hawkin Rasmussen tossed six touchdowns in his debut, including five to Nixon Warren, who finished with 268 yards.
After the game, Tauteoli said when his players kept raving about Warren having a full-ride scholarship to BYU, he replied, “Well, that makes sense. And then they told me it was for baseball, and I’m like, ‘wow, alright.'”
Snow Canyon quarterback Parker Olson threw five touchdowns to three different receivers while also rushing for two TDs.
Snow Canyon seemed in control up 27-7 late in the second quarter, and then up 42-35 with under a minute remaining, but Spanish Fork never relented, rallying to force overtime.
Both teams have new head coaches this season. That unfamiliarity played a factor.
“Felt like the game where you think you have something figured out, and then they come back with something that you haven’t seen yet,” said Tauteoli. “But it’s a huge credit to our kids to be able to kind of take something and then fight back.”
Tied 42-42 after regulation, Snow Canyon and Spanish Fork both scored touchdowns on their two possessions, with Olson tossing a pair of TDs and Rasmussen converting one rushing and one passing TD.
Tied 56-56 heading into the third OT, the new UHSAA overtime rules that were introduced a few years ago should’ve been used but weren’t — a mistake confirmed by the UHSAA.
Beginning in the third overtime, all possessions are supposed to be two-point tries only. Instead, both teams received a normal possession starting at the 25-yard line.
Spanish Fork went first and scored on a Kohen Frost six-yard TD reception, but the Dons missed the extra point and led 62-56. Brody Lounsbury made a big defensive stop at the goal line on the two-point attempt.
Snow Canyon tied the game on its possession on a 12-yard TD run from Lounsbury, with Lounsbury converting the two-point conversion for the 64-62 win.
Stellar opener for Delta
A year ago, Delta dropped its season opener in humbling fashion to Juab, 40-0 en route to a disappointing 2-8 campaign.
What a difference a year makes.
The Rabbits opened the season with a dramatic 29-26 win over Juab, one of the biggest eye-opening performances of Friday night’s season openers.
“Last night was a great team win. It’s always nice to start your season off with a win and some momentum,” said Delta coach Denton Peterson. “None of us were happy with the results of last season. That’s not our standard. That’s not Delta football. The team has worked hard in the offseason and Juab is always a tough test to gauge where we are at beginning each season. We have a long way to go to get to where we want to be, but the effort is there, the buy in is there.”
Delta jumped out fast, building a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. Juab responded with strong second and third quarters to take a 26-21 lead into the fourth quarter.
Delta ultimately pulled out the win on a Bodey Shurtz one-yard TD run with 4:54 remaining for its first win over Juab since 2017.
That was also the last season Delta enjoyed a winning record, as it finished 8-3 in 2017.
Tooele wins it in final seconds
Tooele’s offense stalled throughout much of Friday night’s opener, with just one touchdown on the board heading into the final minute.
When the offense needed it most, though, it finally put together a drive.
After Union’s Bryson Winterton booted a 27-yard field goal with 2:33 remaining in the game to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead, Tooele drove the length of the field and scored the game-winning TD with just four seconds remaining.
Kami Vaenuku punched it in with four seconds remaining as the Buffaloes rallied for the 14-10 victory.
“Proud of our boys and their belief in each other. The defense came through big at the end, holding Union to a field goal in the low red zone. Our offense never flinched, executing on a late two-minute drive to put us in a position to win that game,” said Tooele coach Tuli Wily-Matagi.
“The big boys did an amazing job, most of them playing in the trenches on both sides the entire night. I couldn’t be more proud of the way our team stayed in the fight and trusted one another.”
Tooele finished the game with 195 rushing yards, led by Gus Pater’s 82 yards.
Clutch defensive stands
At Woods Cross and North Summit on Friday, defenses flexed their muscles when it mattered most.
In the final two minutes of both games, the defenses stuffed a two-point conversion attempt that ultimately preserved exciting one-point, season-opening wins.
Woods Cross denied Syracuse’s two-point conversion attempt with 1:54 remaining as it held on for the narrow 27-26 win, while North Summit denied Enterprise’s two-point conversion attempt with 1:27 remaining to secure the 14-13 win.
“It was a great team win last night. I am proud of the way we played physical all night long. Our young men handled adversity and continued to fight,” said Woods Cross coach Brody Benson.
“Proud of our defense to pull up their boot straps in that situation. Giving up a touchdown, allowing them to get into that position where they could go ahead with a two-point, I thought our guys did a great job of recognizing the trick play and continuing to fight to keep them out of the end zone. Very proud of our guys.”
Offensive, Tage Ita rushed for a pair of scores for Woods Cross.
North Summit took the 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a Knox Woolstenhulme one-yard score, but Enterprise battled back, scoring a touchdown by Jake Christensen late. It opted to go for the win instead of the tie.
“Our kids showed incredible resilience and battled through adversity most of the night. Our defense kept us in the game and sealed it for us at the end. Enterprise is not an easy place to win. So we are grateful we snuck it out. Couldn’t be more proud of our kids for their efforts,” said North Summit coach Dalton Ross.
Impressive debuts
Of the 29 first-year head coaches in Utah this year, 27 debuted on Friday night.
Thirteen of those coaches won their openers, including a big win for new Corner Canyon coach Casey Sutera over Davis.
Two of the most impressive wins came in debut performances from Region 6 coaches.
New Brighton coach Josh Montzingo’s team blitzed West Field for a 34-0 road victory.
Olympus new head coach Casey Evans led his team to a 49-14 win at Cedar Valley as the Titans coasted after building a 49-0 halftime lead.
“We had a fast start to the game and we never slowed down. The defense played physical, fast and smart. The pick six to start the game was ideal. The offense was very effective on first down and we were extremely balanced rushing and passing the football,” said Evans.
Other first-year coaches who prevailed on Friday night were Orem’s Andy Stokes, Payson’s Mike Cole, Timpanogos’ Nolan Nielsen, Desert Hills’ Tanner Balderree, Pine View’s Ray Hosner, Snow Canyon’s Zach Tauteoli, Bear River’s Craig Anhder, Logan’s Justin Hugie, ALA’s Joe DuPaix and North Summit’s Dalton Ross.
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