Explosive start: Orem opens with 35-13 victory over Pleasant Grove
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- Orem’s Kaue Akana (13) crosses the goal line for a touchdown in a high school football game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Orem’s Kaue Akana (13) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Jackson Sanders in a high school football game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Orem students react during a high school football game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Simon Roundy, right, takes down Orem’s Feleti Iongi during a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Orem’s Coy Beck (6) gathers in a pass as Pleasant Grove’s Carter Wilkes defends in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Luke Hafen (29) tackles Orem’s Kaue Akana during a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove’s Connor Ybarra carries the ball against Orem in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove quarterback Connor Ybarra throws the ball against Orem in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Orem’s Kaue Akana (13) slips a tackle on his way to the end zone in a high school football game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Orem’s Dylan Dye (22) and his teammates take the field before a high school football game against Pleasant Grove on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
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- Pleasant Grove captains Simon Roundy (54) and Wade Christiansen listen to the referee during the coin toss before a high school football game against Orem on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
If senior receiver/kicker Kaue Akana is having a busy game, the Orem Tigers are having a good night.
Akana caught two touchdown passes, kicked five extra points and booted five of his six kickoffs for touchbacks as Orem pounded Pleasant Grove 35-13 to open the 2024 season on Friday.
“What can’t he do?” Tigers coach Lance Reynolds Jr. said. “We knew coming into the season that a couple of our big weapons would be Feliti (Iongi) and Kaue, and they never disappoint. We need to better utilize them throughout the game, and not have little streaks where we use them and then forget about them for a while. We’re going to get better calling the plays and getting them open. But I loved the way we came out. We looked good in the first half and scored 14 points a quarter, which is right on par with what we have set in terms of goals. Our defense was solid all the way across the board.”
Hawaii move-in Tayden Ka’awa had a nice debut for Orem at quarterback, throwing three touchdown passes and shared time with returning quarterback Cole Engemann.
“It’s not my favorite thing to run a two-quarterback offense,” Reynolds admitted. “It’s not ideal for me. But the reality is we’ve got two pretty good quarterbacks and they’re both pretty productive. They’re going to split reps and they still threw it around pretty well.”
It didn’t take long for Orem to find the end zone. Ka’awa lofted a deep pass down the sideline that speedy Coy Beck ran down for a 54-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 9:23 to play in the first quarter. Ka’awa made his only mistake throw of the game later in the quarter, a short pass that PG’s Dexton Nuttel picked off and returned 57 yards to the house to close the gap to 7-6.
Near the end of the first quarter, Engemann and Akana connected on a 20-yard scoring play for a 14-6 Orem lead. Midway through the second quarter, sophomore Burnham Sudweeks intercepted a Pleasant Grove pass that set up another Tigers score, a 14-yard touchdown pass from Engemann to Kai Wesley to make the score 21-6.
As the half moved under three minutes remaining, Ka’awa found Akana on a deep crossing route for a 73-yard touchdown pass and the Tigers took a 28-6 lead at the break.
“We just need to start our offense off simple and not do anything crazy,” Akana said. “Everyone just needs to do their job. If everyone is working for each other, everyone is making plays and making each other’s job easier.”
Akana said that the offense will be successful if he’s he’s getting a chance to make plays.
“We need to get our playmakers the ball in space so we can make guys miss and score,” he said.
Late in the second half, Orem’s Beckham Curtis took a screen play 25 yards to the PG 13, and the next play Feleti Iongi caught a Ka’awa pass and scooted 13 yards into the end zone for a 35-6 advantage.
“This is just the beginning for us,” Akana said. “It was our first game and everybody had nerves. We were a little shaky, but I’m excited. This is our floor but we’re going to skyrocket through the rest of the season, for sure.”
Wade Christiansen, one of the bright spots for the Pleasant Grove offense, returned the ensuring kickoff past midfield, then broke loose on a 23-yard run to the Orem 4-yard line. He turned left end for the touchdown moments later to produce the final margin.
Pleasant Grove, which ended four drives in Orem territory with failed fourth down conversions, suffered a tough break when sophomore quarterback Connor Ybarra went down with an injury on the second series of the game and didn’t return. The Vikings played three other quarterbacks (junior Drake Stanley, sophomore Cannon Jacobson and freshman Jett Christopherson) with Stanley leading them on their only scoring drive.
Orem (1-0) will host American Fork next Friday while Pleasant Grove (0-1) travels to Weber.
Pleasant Grove 6 0 0 7 — 13
Orem 14 14 0 7 — 35
O-Beck 54 pass from Ka’awa (Akana kick)
PG-Nuttel 57 interception return (kick failed)
O-Akana 20 pass from Engemann (Akana kick)
O-Wesley 14 pass from Engemann (Akana kick)
O-Akana 73 pass rom Ka’awa (Akana kick)
O-Iongi 13 pass from Ka’awa (Akana kick)
PG-Christiansen 4 run (Doman kick)