Mountain View's running backs picked a good time to get healthy. After at least one of the Bruins' dynamic duo of Anthony Heimuli and T.J. Mounga had missed time due to injury in each of Mountain View's first three games this season, the pair finally played an entire game together. The result was the first win of the season for the Bruins as they defeated Payson 31-14 on Friday night in Orem in the region opener for both teams.

"We're better when we're healthy, that's the bottom line," said Mountain View coach Teko Johnson. "We had two healthy backs tonight."

The Bruins dominated the first half and took a 17-0 lead by taking immediate advantage of Payson's miscues. Midway through the first quarter, the Lions fumbled at their own 20-yard line. On the next play, Heimuli ran it in for a touchdown to give Mountain View a 7-0 lead.

The same scenario played out once again later in the first quarter when Bruin defensive back Matt Bowen intercepted a Payson pass to give Mountain View the ball at its own 27-yard line. Two plays later, Heimuli rushed up the middle, cut left, then outraced the Lion defense for a 73-yard touchdown run.

"It's been a long time since we've won; on this field especially," Heimuli said. "Our fans, I felt like I owed it to them, so I feel really good. I'm going to sleep good tonight."

Payson made things interesting early in the second half with a pair of spectacular plays. Lion running back Chris Robbins fielded the second half kickoff on the 2-yard line and faked a handoff to Jace Harmon before splitting the Mountain View coverage, juking the kicker, and racing for a score that made it a 17-7 game.

Mountain View answered with a 2-yard Nate Stroshine run that made it 24-7, but the Lions quickly struck again. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Payson's Jeremiah Guzman took the ball on an end around and went 55 yards into the end zone to make it a 24-14 game.

The Lions got the ball back and were threatening to pull even closer, but a series of penalties stalled their drive and the 10-point deficit was as close as they would get.

Penalties and stalled drives were the theme for most of the second half as the two teams combined for 20 penalties for 200 yards. Mountain View was called for 10 holds, two of which came on long touchdown plays. The Bruins were called for only two holding penalties over their first three games.

"Penalties are part of the game," Johnson said. "I don't question if they're holding. What is it that we're doing that's catching the eye of the official? That's what we need to get corrected."

Despite all of the penalties, the Bruins eventually put the game away early in the fourth quarter. After stopping the Lions on a fake punt attempt, Mountain View took over at the Payson 16-yard line. A pair of Heimuli runs took the ball to the 5-yard line, and quarterback Dustin Thacker ran it in from there.

Along with the return of Mountain View's running backs, the other key to the game was the stellar play of the Bruin defense. Mountain View held the Lions to just 209 total yards. The defensive front was particularly good for the Bruins as they limited Payson's running game all night. When the Lions decided to throw, defensive end Chris Wright was usually there to punish Payson quarterback Colton Cannon. In addition to Wright, Stroshine also played very well on the defensive side.

"I thought the biggest thing was how our defense played tonight," Johnson said. "Once we started getting a little success on defense, that kind of frees you up for what you want to do on offense."

Johnson expects his offense to continue getting better as his players get healthier. The coach said Heimuli is still only at about 80 percent, so the best may be yet to come.

"Anthony, I wouldn't say he's 100 percent. T.J. isn't 100 percent either," Johnson said. "The better they get, the healthier they get, the better we'll be."

His star running back agrees.

"We still have some weaknesses, but we'll keep that confidence up and we're going to keep rolling," Heimuli said.

In spite of any weaknesses, the Bruins are where they want to be-on top of region 7, at least for now. Johnson points out that his team's 0-3 start doesn't mean nearly as much as its current 1-0 record in region play.

"One thing about Utah is that non-league games don't matter. Of course we don't want to lose, but in the big scheme of things, the only games that matter are region."

Mountain View will look to keep its momentum next week against Tooele. Payson (0-4, 0-1) will host Timpview next Friday.

Payson 0 0 14 0 14

Mountain View 14 3 7 7 31

MV-Anthony Heimuli 20 run (Sam Hickman kick)

MV-Heimuli 73 run (Hickman kick)

MV-Hickman 38 field goal

P-Chris Robbins 98 kickoff return (Brandon Jamison kick)

P-Jeremiah Guzman 55 run (Jamison kick)

MV-Nate Stroshine 2 run (Hickman kick)

MV-Dustin Thacker 5 run (Hickman kick)