Region 3 parity apparent in American Fork’s win over Lone Peak
One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2025 season was the effects of the new region realignments. Few areas were as shaken up as Region 3 as Pleasant Grove, as Westlake left and powerhouse Corner Canyon returned.
Lone Peak shocked Corner Canyon in week six, beating the national powerhouse 42-21. The Knights, understandably, were riding a high after handing the Chargers their first loss of the season and only their third in-region loss in the Eric Kjar era.
Meanwhile, while many saw American Fork as a good 6A team, it wasn’t viewed necessarily as a Region 3 threat. The Cavemen more than proved their abilities in week seven as they stunned Lone Peak 31-28.
“Region 3 is the ultimate test,” said American Fork head coach Aaron Behm. “It will test you and prepare you for the playoffs. The challenge is to get better every week, put this win behind us and stay hungry as the challenges just keep coming here for the next three weeks through region play.”
American Fork shocked Lone Peak out the gate with a 56-yard touchdown run from Prince Afu on their opening drive, then safety Noah Behm scored on a 90-yard interception return on the ensuing Knights drive.
“Really proud of our kids for their focus and how hard they played right out of the gate,” Aaron Behm said. “Starting the game with a great drive by our offense that resulted in a TD, and then the defense going out and putting points on the board really helped us to gain momentum that we were able to hold onto for a lot of the game.”
Lone Peak managed to put two touchdowns on the board in the first half, but the Cavemen doubled their efforts and led 28-14 at half. The Knights were unable to score in the third quarter, but they hit another gear in the fourth quarter.
An early touchdown run from Lone Peak’s Cruz Christensen and a touchdown pass from Christensen to Kennan Pula tied the game 28-28 with 2:30 remaining.
With a big win on the line, American Fork marched back down field, where Jace Worthington hit a 40-yard field goal to win his team the game.
Northridge survives first half onslaught, stuns West Field
Region 5 foes Northridge and West Field had very different stories heading into week 7. The Longhorns are in just their second year of competition and they finished with a 1-10 record last year, but this season have found themselves with a 3-0 in-region record.
While West Field has been enjoying its improvement, Northridge struggled to find much success. The Knights didn’t get their first win until they beat Logan in week four, and they opened region play in weeks three and six with losses to Box Elder and Fremont.
West Field had a great chance at a win after taking a 31-13 lead at half, but Northridge rallied back in the second half and sent the Longhorns home with a 42-38 loss.
“It was a great win for the 2025 Northridge football team,” said Northridge head coach Andrew Fresques. “You don’t necessarily want to win games that way, but it shows our true character and never quit attitude.”
Things went from bad to worse in the first half for Northridge. West Field scored in the first 11 seconds on an 80-yard pass from Easton Eilertson to Gavin Ortegon. While Northridge managed to battle back to 14-13 early in the second quarter, West Field scored 17 unanswered points to close the half.
“Told our guys at halftime that we weren’t playing well in all three phases of the game,” Fresques said. “The way we were playing was unacceptable and challenged them to be more disciplined and do the little things. Little things are everything.”
With an 18-point halftime deficit, the Knights outscored West Field 29-7 in the second half for the win. Northridge quarterback Grant Slater led the second-half charge with four touchdown passes.
Dontae Dyson was the lead receiver for Northridge as he ended Friday’s game with two touchdown catches, including the game-winner with only a minute left in the game.
Orem gets revenge on Timpview, gains control of Region 7
The Tigers narrowly missed out on a region title in 2024 as a loss to Timpview in October sealed their fate and barred their chances. To add salt to the wound, Timpview dominated Orem 42-8 in last year’s 5A quarterfinals.
While Timpview had to navigate coaching changes and player transfers prior to the season, they remained in the fight with Orem for control of Region 7 as both teams had 3-0 region records prior to Friday.
With a potential region title in view, Orem played with poise and took care of business, earning a 22-9 win on Friday.
The defense was the star of the show for the Tigers. Timpview may have been the first to strike on a 33-yard field goal from Lukas Thornock in the second quarter, but Orem effectively held them scoreless for the rest of the game.
The only time Timpview scored again was on a 59-yard touchdown pass Dennis Tua’one to Braxton Wilkerson with a minute left in the fourth quarter — long after Timpview had any chance of coming back.
Orem’s defense helped solidify the win, but its offense wasn’t quite as clean as usual. Alabama commit Tayden Ka’awa opened the scoring for Orem with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Oliver Bills. It was the only score of the first half for Orem.
Things started to pick up slightly in the second half as touchdown runs from Beckham Curtis and Utah commit Aisa Galea’i put the game out of reach.
Orem now holds a perfect 4-0 Region 7 record and has sole control of the top spot. The Tigers will play Pleasant Grove in week 8. The Vikings hold a 3-1 in-region record.
Pleasant Grove stays competitive with one-point victory over Wasatch
The move to 5A has had its ups and downs for Pleasant Grove. They opened the season with consecutive losses to American Fork, Westlake and Green Canyon.
The silver lining for the Vikings is that ever since they started region play in week four, they’ve tallied a 3-1 region record. They’re now tied for second place with Springville and Timpview after beating Wasatch 21-20 on Friday.
After a promising start with a touchdown in the opening four minutes, Pleasant Grove fell behind: A 47-yard fumble recovery by Wasatch’s Ashton Nord and a field goal from Austin Wilde put the Wasps up 10-7.
Pleasant Grove’s Connor Ybarra scored again on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Landan Forstpointner to give them the lead. It didn’t last long as Wasatch again had a sequence of a touchdown and a field goal for a 20-14 halftime lead.
Wasatch was consistently scoring on its offensive drives in the first half, and the Vikings shut them down after halftime. Pleasant Grove completely shut out the Wasps while scoring a touchdown in the third quarter on a pass from Ybarra to Rocky Wilcox.
It was the only score of the second half for either team, but it was enough to make the difference as Pleasant Grove squeaked out the win.
It was a solid region win for Pleasant Grove, but they certainly have their hardest tests ahead of them in weeks 8 and 9, where they’ll host both Orem and Timpview.
South Sevier continues resurgence season in blowout of Delta
South Sevier is one of the more under-the-radar impressive teams.
The Rams have been a struggling program for over two decades. Since 2000, South Sevier has had only six seasons with a final record above .500.
The last time South Sevier achieved that feat was 2014, where they ended the season 6-5. In their entire 105-year history, the Rams have a win percentage of just 38%.
So, the fact that their offense is averaging more than 52 points per game with a 7-0 record after their dominating 69-27 win over Delta on Friday is surprising.
Friday’s game itself wasn’t particularly unexpected. Delta is still winless and South Sevier has been torching teams all year.
South Sevier quarterback Bridger Bradshaw is having a standout year. He’s tied for the fifth-most passing touchdowns in the state with 22, and he’s done it while throwing only two interceptions. In Friday’s win, he threw for four touchdowns.
The Rams’ defense has been just as impressive. So far this season, South Sevier has given up only 51 total points through the first seven weeks. It’s the lowest point total any defense has allowed in the state. The Rams’ defense scored twice on Friday, with Masen Healey scoring on two interception returns.
South Sevier is one win away from tying its all-time longest win streak. It held an eight-game win streak the last time it won a share of a region title, in 2009.