High school football: Top 5 most intriguing flashback results from Week 6

The second half of the season has officially begun for high school football in Utah, and don’t worry. There is still plenty of drama to unfold.

Plenty.

Here are some of the most intriguing game results from Week 6 across the state:

Lehi’s streak is broken … big time

At 7 p.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 15, the Lehi Pioneers had a 24-game winning streak that spanned at least part of three seasons and included two state championships.

Snap!

The Pioneers had a great run to start the season with five straight wins, but after having faced just two teams in their own classification and heading into the gauntlet of Region 3, undefeated American Fork welcomed them onto its home turf and delivered a message best interpreted as, “Welcome to 6A.”

The Cavemen didn’t just beat the Pioneers, they decimated them, 62-28. American Fork really ran away with the game after halftime with 29 unanswered points. The Cavemen also returned an interception for a touchdown.

As dominant as the Cavemen were, Lehi’s winning streak didn’t really matter much to them.

“We honestly didn’t talk much about that at all,” American Fork coach Aaron Behm said. “We just kinda focused on us executing what we wanted to like any other Friday.”

The Cavemen are now 6-0 on the season.

How Lehi responds to the streak ending will prove critical as the Pioneers are now preparing for one of its biggest regular-season matchups in years: a long-awaited inaugural rivalry game with cross-town powerhouse Skyridge.

Copper Hills nearly did it

In 28 seasons of existence, not once has Copper Hills been anywhere close to a contender in football, its best year being a 5-6 season in 2004, but the Grizzlies’ futility against its rival, Bingham, has been especially futile, going 1-24 against the Miners, most of them being blowout losses.

On Friday night, Copper Hills nearly had its home crowd in pure shock — nearly.

Instead of the Grizzlies perennially playing from behind, it was Bingham that had to search for answers late in the game as Copper Hills entered the fourth quarter with a 14-10 lead.

Ultimately, Bingham broke through with two TDs from Carson Sudbury, and the Miners won, 24-14, but it’s hard to find a bigger takeaway from the game than that the Grizzlies are really something in 2023.

Lest anyone get good feelings about “cheering for the little guys” when it comes to Copper Hills, coach Aaron Dodds made it clear that he’s done with the old perceptions about the program.

“We expected to win that game,” Dodds said. “This team has high expectations and high standards in which to reach them. We very much appreciate the praise for our ability to compete. However, it is no surprise to us as an organization to do so. Matter of fact, the team was quite upset that we couldn’t close it out.”

Maybe Copper Hills’ 4-1 start to the season wasn’t so illusionary. The Grizzlies already managed a dogfight of a win against Westlake in Week 5.

“This team’s goal has been to sweep the old moniker of Copper Hills under the rug and brand themselves as a formidable opponent,” Dodds said. “Obviously to do so, we must clean up our mistakes and remain focused on ourselves. We are fortunate to have a team that strives to get better each week and willing to put in the work.”

Wasatch willpower wins

The Wasatch Wasps were coming off their first losing season in quite some time. They were already 1-4 this season, and for the second time in the same game, they were down by two touchdowns, this time in the fourth quarter.

With 37 seconds to go, senior quarterback Mack Kelson reversed his team’s fortune with a 5-yard touchdown run, and kicker Ashton Southam nailed a game-winning PAT to give Wasatch a much-needed win, 35-34.

The Wasps were reeling from a 44-0 loss to Orem from the week before and had not seen a win inside Utah’s borders this year, their only win coming at Madison, Idaho.

“Just really proud of the boys facing adversity and continuing to fight,” Wasatch coach Steve Coburn said. “Coming off our toughest loss of the season last week, three starters out with injuries, lots of penalties and three interceptions in the first half, down 13 in the fourth quarter, and the kids just kept fighting … A big win for this season and for this team.”

Southam delivered the final winning point for the Wasps and he has been somewhat of an unsung hero for the team. The senior kicker, who is a younger sibling of former BYU kicker Skyler Southam, went 5 for 5 on PATs in the game.

Southam’s 26 made field goals for his career are sixth most in state history, and his 153 made extra points have him at 10th on that list as well, per UHSAA records.

Sky View survives a Bear attack

Many things changed about 4A football with the newest realignment, but one thing didn’t, and that was the fact that Region 11 continues to be completely unpredictable.

Sure, Sky View did in fact leave with an expected win against Bear River last weekend, but not before a terrifying run when the Bears nearly stole victory right out of the Bobcats clutches in a single quarter.

With Sky View ahead 35-14 early in the fourth quarter, and the game seemingly in hand for the undefeated Bobcats, the Bears had a power surge and went on a 20-point scoring run capped by a touchdown pass with just 11 seconds on the clock. That’s when Sky View finally recuperated just in time to bat down the attempt at a game-winning 2-point conversion and escape without its home fans seeing an ignominious defeat, winning the game, 35-34.

“Our kids were not happy with how they played in the fourth quarter,” Sky View coach Chris Howell said. “They are determined to learn from it and get better. We had way too many penalties down the stretch and a couple of selfish ones in crucial situations. Credit to Bear River for continuing to play hard to the end.”

Bear River has plenty more chances to prove itself after dropping to 3-3. The Bears will be at Green Canyon next Friday. Sky View gets an expected reprieve while traveling to take Logan … or do they?

Richfield breaks the streak

For nearly a whole decade, Juab ruled the 3A South with an iron fist, and only occasionally did anyone ever get close to challenging them.

Richfield spent most of that time struggling as a program to win games, but the Wildcats reinvented themselves over the last few seasons. Last week, the Wildcats really got their big break.

For the first time since 2002, Richfield left the gridiron as a victor against Juab, 24-14, breaking a 14-game losing streak and further signifying the possible end of Juab’s reign.

“I’m pretty excited for the players and all Richfield fans,” Richfield coach Eric Thorson said. “It’s a great group of young men that work hard to play their best for each other.”

The Wildcats are quickly looking like one of the likeliest candidates for the 3A state championship, now standing at 6-0. Meanwhile, Juab is 3-3, and is actually in the bottom half of the six-team 3A South in terms of overall record.

Richfield and Canyon View are both undefeated leading the region race, with Manti at 5-1 waiting in the wings. None of those three teams have played each other yet, meaning some highly entertaining football is still on the horizon.

Top Upsets of Week 6

Per Noland Parry’s Power Guide, most of the matchups of this week had heavy favorites, but there was still some room for chaos as region play had its start for many of the smaller regions in the state.

With that, these were the top 5 upsets across the state in terms of power rating. Power rating differentials between the two teams are defined in parentheses:

1.      Spanish Fork over Salem Hills (10.4) – Salem Hills wins, 16-13

2.      West Jordan over Granger (9.9) – Granger wins, 27-20

3.      Uintah over Mountain View (9.5) – Mountain View wins, 31-14

4.      Lone Peak over Pleasant Grove (8.9) – Pleasant Grove wins, 24-19

5.      East over Olympus (8.6) – Olympus wins, 23-10

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