Second-half surge gives Maple Mountain football win over Payson
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- Maple Mountain senior Easton Merrell scores a touchdown during the non-region game against Payson in Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Tetsuo Yshii scores a touchdown during the non-region game against Payson in Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Michael Knudsen scores a touchdown during the non-region game against Payson in Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Easton Merrell scores a touchdown during the non-region game against Payson in Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain kicker Jaxon Robison kicks the ball during the non-region game against Payson in Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023.
Maple Mountain opened its season with a 34-21 win over visiting Payson Friday night, giving Golden Eagle head coach Kalin Hall his first victory as head coach.
Hall is just the second coach in the history of the Golden Eagle program as Brad Burtenshaw led the program from the school’s inception in 2009.
“It feels good (to get this first win),” Hall said. “The kids have been working since January extremely hard doing a lot of difficult things, things they are not used to, things some of them may not have wanted to do. But at the end of the day, it’s all about these young men and all the work they put in.”
Hall knows that that the last couple of seasons have difficult for the program. Last year Maple Mountain finished 1-9 and didn’t make the playoffs.
“I feel good for them considering what they’ve been through the last couple of years,” Hall said. “But through perseverance and hard work, these young people have shown they are capable of winning and competing on a day-to-day basis.”
Payson also has a new coach in Brian Wall, and he’s the fifth head coach in five years for the Lion program. And in the battle of rookie head coaches, Wall and Payson struck first when running back Payden Sorensen crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run.
But Maple Mountain struck back quickly as Banks Jackson connected with Easton Merrell on two touchdown passes of 37 and 24 yards respectively.
“We have a lot of trust in each other to do the right thing,” Jackson said of Merrell. “I know he’ll make plays.”
Payson countered with Sorensen’s second touchdown run of three yards and the two teams were tied 14-14 at intermission.
Payson looked like it might take control when Kade Edwards found Porter Beckstead on a well-executed pass and catch for a 25-yard score. Logan Russell made good on the extra point to give the Lions a 21-14 lead.
But Maple Mountain did more than respond as the Golden Eagles scored the next 20 points.
Tetsuo Yshii scored on a 10-yard scamper which knotted the score at 21-21 midway through the third quarter.
After Payson missed a field goal on its next possession, Jackson appeared to score on a 74-yard run — but a personal foul penalty nullified the score. The infraction happened enough down field to give Maple Mountain a first down at the Lion 40-yard line.
The drive eventually stalled but Fernando Banuelos split the uprights on a 42-yard field goal to put Maple Mountain ahead 24-21.
“I was focused,” Banuelos said of the go-ahead field goal which gave Maple Mountain a lead they would never relinquish.
As the game went into the final stanza, the two teams traded possessions failing to convert on fourth down. Payson took over on its own 30-yard line but Edwards was picked off by Michael Knudsen who went 34-yards for a pick-six. Banuelos hit the extra point and then added another 38-yard field goal to complete the Golden Eagle scoring barrage.
Hall was pleased that the Golden Eagle defense rose to the occasion to hold down the high-flying Payson offense that scored nearly 40 points a game last year.
“You know what, it was tenacity,” Hall said of his defense. “The young men were disciplined, sound in their fronts and their scheme control. Ultimately, the kids came together, played as a unit, and to some extent, were able to slow down a very high-powered offense.”
Maple Mountain (1-0) will host Spanish Fork (0-1) next week while Payson (0-1) will entertain Hillcrest (1-0). Both games are slated to kick off at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
