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Springville senior running back Tevita Valeti runs the ball during the 5A quarterfinal game against Bountiful in Springville on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Skyridge senior Jackson Stevens throws a pass during the 6A semifinal game against American Fork at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Timpview sophomore quarterback Helaman Casuga throws a pass in the 5A semifinal game against Olympus at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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American Fork senior Dylan Story throws a pass during the 6A semifinal game against Skyridge at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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Lehi senior offensive lineman Jake Somerville (left) and junior quarterback Jett Niu walk off the field after the 6A semifinal game against Corner Canyon at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

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This Friday the last three games of the Utah prep football season will take place as the 4A, 5A and 6A state championship games are played in a tripleheader at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah.

Two Utah County schools will take part in these games as Timpview (10-2) goes for the title in 5A taking on Bountiful (10-4) at 6:30 p.m., while Skyridge (11-2) hopes to defend its 6A title in a rematch of last year’s title game against Corner Canyon (12-1) with the kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.

In the 4A title game at 11 a.m., Crimson Cliffs (12-1) hopes it can do what it couldn’t pull off last year, while for Cache Valley’s Green Canyon (10-3), this level in the playoffs is uncharted waters.

But it’s also time to take a look at some of the great stories that took place all across the valley and highlight some outstanding individual performances in the 2023 season:

Valeti finishes second in state in touchdowns rushing: Unless Corner Canyon’s Bryton Brady can score 11 touchdowns in the 6A championship game (he had seven against Lehi in the semifinals), Springville’s Tevita Valeti will finish second in the state in touchdown scored with 30, four behind San Juan’s Zach Conway who went across the goal line 34 times in 12 games. Valeti’s season ended after 11 games played.

When interviewed, Valeti always gave credit to his offensive line. Springville’s physical run game was led in the trenches by Kinikinilau Fonohema, Chaste Lemata, Brigham Penrod, Chris Hernandez, and BYU-bound Dallin Johnson. The Red Devils played in multiple tight end sets and Navlivou Luaki Jr. and Reid Deede also provided many great blocks. Valeti also rushed for 1,610 yards with a 6.4 yards per carry average.

It should be noted that Carter Bucad had a great season running the football for Wasatch. In 10 games he ran for 1,436 yards and crossed the goal line 13 times.

And though his team struggled to win games, Cedar Valley’s Chevas Gregory had 1,274 yards in 11 games. Other 1000 yard rushers were American Fork’s Jacob Eardley (1,338 yards in 13 games), Orem’s Mack Hixon (1,518 yards in 12 games), Provo’s Tagai Lesa (1,077 yards in 11 games) and Spanish Fork’s Kaden Vest (1,334 yards in 10 games). And from his quarterback position, Maple Mountain’s Banks Jackson ran for 1,207 yards in 12 contests. It should be noted ALA’s Kannon Huntsman had 16 rushing touchdowns, though the Eagles only won once in 2023 going 1-10.

Elite passers to battle in 6A championship game: Most successful teams have great quarterbacks. The 6A title game will feature two of the best in the state.

Corner Canyon’s Isaac Wilson has tossed for 4,257 yards in 13 games with 239 completions in 339 attempts and 48 touchdowns. Skyridge’s Jackson Stevens has also lit up the stat sheet throwing for 4,070 yards with 291 completions out of 462 attempts with a state-high 50 touchdowns.

But Utah Valley produced other great performers.

Timpview’s Helaman Casuga has one more game left in his season and has thrown for 31 touchdowns. Lehi’s Jett Niu’s season ended after 13 games with 33 touchdowns, while American Fork’s Dylan Story tossed 36 touchdowns, also in 13 games. The Caveman signal-caller also had a very impressive 3,563 yards passing.

Other notable stats: On the receiving front, Wasatch’s Jojo Hyer had 83 receptions and 13 touchdown catches while Maple Mountain’s Easton Merrell also had 13 touchdown receptions. Orem’s Asher Young had 1,078 receiving yards in 12 games.

And two of the state’s leading tacklers will battle it out in the 5A state championship game. Bountiful’s Brigham Morrison has posted 137 tackles or 9.8 per game, while Timpview’s Taani Makasini has registered 114 tackles in 12 games, or 9.5 per contest.

Skyridge has two sack machines who Falcon fans will hope can hassle Wison on Friday as Iakopo Malufau has 14.5 sacks and his teammate Deshawn Toilolo has 11.5.

Lone Peak had three players that were ballhawks as Easton Anderson, Jaxson Arrington and Matthias Nawahine each had two pick-sixes. Cooper Swasey had six interceptions for Payson.

And in the kicking department, Lehi’s Gavin Fenn kicked a 50-yard plus field goal for the third straight game. His longest on the season is 55 yards and he kicked 12 field goals on the season. He was second highest in the state in both field goals made and total points kicking with 88. Maple Mountain’s Fernando Banuelos kicked eight field goals in the 2023 campaign.

Feel-good stories: At the team or program level, the 2023 season saw some significant things. Payson went 7-6 and had its first back-to-back winning season since 1970-71. Payson also reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986 when it upset Provo 27-21 with three fourth quarter touchdowns and a pair of those being scoop-and-scores.

Speaking of the Bulldogs, they put together their rest regular season since 2019 going 8-2 and securing the 4A Region 8 title. In 1999, Provo went 8-4 and reached the 4A semifinals but was 6-3 in the regular season.

American Fork took home the region trophy in Utah’s best gridiron league. No team went unscathed in 6A Region 3, but American Fork just lost once while Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Skyridge went 3-2 in league play. Lone Peak was actually the team that gave American Fork its first loss. Region 3 produced three of the state’s 6A semifinalists, five of its league teams made the quarterfinals and all six teams won a playoff game.

The Skyridge Falcons haven’t lost a game in regulation play. Though 11-2, both of the Falcon defeats came in overtime as the Cavemen dropped games to Pleasant Grove 34-31 and American Fork 34-27. But the Falcons avenged both of those defeats in the playoffs beating Pleasant Grove in another game that needed extra football 37-30, and downing 6A top seed American Fork 34-21 last Friday in the 6A semifinals.

It wasn’t the greatest season for the Lone Peak Knights who finished 5-7 with a trip to the 6A quarterfinals, but Lone Peak’s defense went in the record books when it secured four interception returns for touchdowns in a win against Highland, Arizona. Lone Peak had seven pick sixes on the season. The Knights also did secure a huge upset when it beat American Fork 17-14 and a Matthias Nawawhine 45-yard pick six provided the winning margin.

After just winning four games the past two seasons, Maple Mountain went 6-6 this year under first-year coach Kalin Hall. The Golden Eagles also won a playoff game defeating Viewmont 35-13 and then took 5A No. 4 seed Box Elder to the brink, losing 28-21 as the Bees scored in the final two minutes of the contest.

Preece’s Keys for Skyridge and Timpview: In the 6A championship final, both teams have incredible athletes all over the field. Corner Canyon is a bit better offensively but Skyridge might have the edge on defense. Of course, the Falcon program has seen some turmoil over the use of an ineligible player and their head coach being suspended for the last two playoff games. But this has seemed to rally Skyridge in an “us against the world” sort of way. Skyridge definitely had a chip on its shoulder and dominated much of its game against rival American Fork last Friday.

The challenge the Falcons have in front of them will be huge. Corner Canyon’s offense ran wild against Lehi going for over 700 total yards and scoring 63 total points. But Skyridge is the returning 6A champion and is not lacking in confidence. If the Falcons can stay hyper focused and get some turnovers and stops on defense, they will win their second straight state title.

For Timpview, the key is for the Thunderbirds to stay out of their own way. Luke Thornock came up with the big field goal kick with no time remaining as Timpview avoided the huge upset, downing Olympus 22-20. The Thunderbirds had more than 200 total yards than the Titans but penalties short circuited many Timpview drives keeping Olympus in the ball game.

Bountiful has scored two emotional one-point wins in successive weeks against Springville and then Alta in the semifinals. This seemingly makes the Redhawks “the team of destiny”. But if Timpview can take control early, avoid turnovers, and keep the penalties to a reasonable level, the Thunderbirds should take home the 5A gold trophy for the first time in nearly a decade.

Extra points

• Two teams finished undefeated in Utah prep football in 2023. San Juan won its third straight 2A state title to extend its winning streak to 37. The Broncos defeated South Summit, 43-28. Richfield capped off a perfect 13-0 season by defeating Manti 27-21 in the 3A championship game. It wasn’t easy for the Wildcats as they trailed 21-14 but scored 20 points in the final stanza to Manti’s seven to claim the gold trophy.
• Rich won the 8-player championship defeating Monticello 35-20 and Beaver defeated Enterprise 28-6 to win the 1A state title. In the 4A semifinals, Crimson Cliffs got past Ridgeline 35-28, while Green Canyon shut out Park City, 21-0.
• It should be noted that in the 4A and 6A championship games, all these schools haven’t been around that long but have seen great success on the gridiron. Crimson Cliffs opened its doors in 2019 but is in its second championship game. Green Canyon isn’t much older as it opened its doors as a school in 2017. In 2016, Skyridge became a high school in Alpine School district and is playing in the state championship game for the fourth time taking state last season. Meanwhile, Corner Canyon opened its doors for students in 2013, and in its 11th season in prep football, the Chargers have made six straight championship games from 2018 though 2023 winning three titles. The 5A state title does feature two longer standing schools as Timpview is going for its 12th state title since it opened in 1977, but its first since 2014. The ten seasons since its last title is actually the longest drought the Thunderbird program has faced, though it has appeared in three straight championship games. Bountiful has existed since 1951 and the Braves have won five state titles including back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. Four of those titles were won with Larry Wall at the helm.
• Corner Canyon’s Eric Kjar has experience on his side. He is coaching in his seventh state championship game and besides winning three state titles with the Charger program, he led Jordan to a state title in 2012. Timpview’s Donny Atuaia is in his second season with the Thunderbird program after leading the Thunderbirds to the state title game last season. Bountiful’s Jason Freckleton is in his fourth season but coaching in his first state title game for the Redhawks. And of course, Skyridge has the most complicated coaching situation as first-year head coach Justin Hemm has been suspended for this game and the Falcons will be led by interim coach Patrick Gleaves.
• Utah County went 1-1 in games against competition outside the valley and now stand a sparkling 56-34 overall.

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