Utah Valley High School Football Rewind: Mountain View honors student diversity before SF game
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- Mountain View students hold flags of many nations to celebrate Multicultural Night before the start of a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
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- A group of Polynesian dancers perform at halftime of the Spanish Fork-Mountain View football game to celebrate Multicultural Night on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
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- Mountain View students run onto the football field with flags of many nations to celebrate Multicultural Night before the start of a high school game on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
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- Mountain View football players run onto the field before the start of a game against Spanish Fork on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork’s Kaden Vest carries the ball against Mountain View during a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
During its home game versus Spanish Fork, Mountain View took some time to celebrate the diversity within its student body.
Before the game, Mountain View showcased all the students and the different countries in which they were born, nearly 25 in total, as they carried flags from their native country. As fans entered the stadium on the south end, the Latinos in Action (LIA) program was cooking up some great food. Then at halftime, LIA members performed a dance as did the POP, or Peoples of the Pacific club.
Provo and Mountain View high schools are the most ethnically diverse schools in Utah Valley, and it was nice to see the Bruins celebrate the myriad of cultures within their community.
Another nice tradition Mountain View does at its home games is to have an athlete honor a teacher that has really helped them. Mountain View offensive and defensive lineman Michael Earnest nominated his math teacher Sam Ramos, who Earnest said via a statement read by the public address announcer, “has really gone the extra mile to help him.”
Respect between programs: Though Mountain View lost to Spanish Fork 42-14, the Bruin program and their head coach Abe Poduska, definitely earned the respect of Don head coach Dustin Smith.
“They’re a good team,” Smith said. “What Abe (Poduska) is doing with this program is remarkable. They play hard, the kids are positive and what he’s doing should be really commended. Mark my words, in the next couple of years, Mountain View is going to be back as a very good high school team.”
Poduska, likewise, gave Spanish Fork a lot of props.
“Spanish Fork has a great team and they are well coached,” Poduska said.
Shout out to a coaching legend: Bobby Kauo, age 86, is still giving back as an assistant coach at Mountain View. Kauo has been a fixture in Utah County football for five decades and once was the head coach at American Leadership Academy (ALA) where he won a game on his 75th birthday.
Battle of the southpaw QBs: It is rare to see a left-handed quarterback, but especially unusual to see two start in the same game. Spanish Fork’s McKay Smith and Mountain View’s Hyrum Stafford tossed three and two touchdowns respectively in their game as lefties.
Timpview dominates Springville: The Thunderbirds returned to the win column in emphatic fashion with a 45-0 shutout of Region 7 rival Springville (3-2, 0-1), 45-0.
Timpview (2-2, 1-0) scored with its offense, defense and special teams.
Braxton Wilkerson got the Thunderbirds on the board with a 21-yard pick six. Timpview’s second score came via an 81-yard punt return by Kennan Pula. Quarterback Carson Rasmussen ran for one score and tossed two others while Luke Thornock was six-for-six on extra points and booted a 45-yard field goal.
Orem posts shutout against Wasatch: The Tigers are known for their offensive arsenal but its defense posted a 37-0 shutout of Wasatch (1-4, 0-1) to start 5A Region 7 play.
Orem (5-0, 1-0) remained undefeated as Kaue Akana had another busy night rushing for one touchdown and booting four extra points to go along with another field goal. The defense allowed just 148 total yards in the easy victory.
Lehi remains perfect in 2024: Pioneer quarterback Jett Niu had a touchdown rushing and one passing as Lehi moved its record to 4-0 on the season by defeating Herriman (1-4), 31-7. Devaughn Eka had two touchdown runs of 48 and 46 yards, while Gavin Fenn connected on all four extra points and a 25-yard field goal.
Big third quarter key for Maple Mountain: The Golden Eagles actually trailed Cedar Valley (2-3, 0-1) in their 5A Region 7 contest at halftime 17-14, but then exploded for 21 points in the third quarter while grounding the Aviator offense.
Eli Mauga rushed for three touchdowns, including two scoring runs of 40 and 37 yards to keep Maple Mountain (5-0, 1-0) perfect in its 2024 season. Cedar Valley quarterback Cole Christensen ran for one score and tossed another, while Brayden Jakins split the uprights on a 25-yard field goal.
Statistical Superlatives: Provo (2-2) shut out and shut down Juab (2-3) allowing the Wasps only 85 total yards, including minus-2 yards on the ground, as the Bulldogs won 37-0. Teave Brown had seven tackles and two sacks to pace the defense, while Ollie McKay went over the goal line four times and rushed for 130 yards total to help Provo get the road win.
Andrew Hillstead accounted for six touchdowns as Timpanogos routed Uintah (3-2, 0-2) in Vernal 49-21 to move to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in 4A Region 8 play. Hillstead threw for four scores, two each to Gabriel Graf and Dash McCann, while running for two more scores. Parker Harvey was perfect on all seven extra points.
Tate Allred ran for three scores while his teammate Jedi Nelson passed for two scores and also ran in another as Salem Hills (3-2, 1-1) downed Payson (1-4, 0-2), 37-27. David Keel had two touchdown runs for Payson in the loss.
Kaden Vest electrified the visiting Don fans with touchdown runs of 74 and 16 yards as Spanish Fork (4-1) downed Mountain View (3-2), 42-14. Brock Jacobson scored twice, once on the ground and also hauling in a 54-yard pass from McKay Smith to help the Don cause.
Nicolas Marble ran for one score and tossed another as ALA (3-2) downed Ben Lomond (0-5) in a non-league contest, 21-14.
Big Game of the Week No. 1: Provo (2-2, 1-0) will visit Timpanogos (4-1,1-0) in a vital game in the 4A Region 8 gridiron wars. It took until the fourth week for Provo to get in the win column, but the Bulldogs have looked good the past two weeks. Timpanogos has a high flying offense averaging 47 points a game, while Provo’s defense posted a shutout last week against Juab.
Big Game of the Week No. 2: 6A Region 3 play opens up this week and undefeated Lehi will host American Fork (2-3). The Pioneers get the game at home but shouldn’t overlook the visiting Cavemen who are better than their record indicates.
Big Game of the Week No. 3: In another Region 8 battle, Spanish Fork (4-1, 2-0) will host Salem Hills (3-2, 1-1). A win by the Skyhawks would help them get back into the fray, but a loss would most likely end any hopes for a league title. A win by the Dons this week would put them 3-0 in Region 8 play but games with Provo and Timpanogos still remain.
Extra points: Two county teams made the California trip and both lost as Lone Peak (4-1) suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of Centennial High School out of Corona, 49-35. Centennial crushed Timpview 56-20 in the week previous. Meanwhile, Westlake (1-4) was shut out by Downey, 21-0 … Though they lost 49-35, Lone Peak did secure another pick six by Wes Valgardson … Timpview will only have eight regular season games as the Thunderbirds have a bye this week. The Thunderbirds had their game with Provo canceled which meant Timpview won’t have games twice in a four week span … Two former Corner Canyon quarterbacks started for top ten teams in the AFCA coaches poll. Jaxon Dart and Isaac Wilson helped No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 Utah respectively roll to victories this past Saturday … Providence Hall was shutout for the fifth straight game as the Patriots fell 77-0 to South Sevier (3-2). Providence Hall has been outscored by 290 points and are yielding 58 points per contest … 5A Kearns (0-5) lost to 3A Morgan (5-0) 65-0 after being shutout by 6A Davis (4-1) 80-0 the week before … Three Utah County teams remain undefeated and two of them are in 5A Region 7 with Maple Mountain and Orem with 5-0 marks. Lehi is also 4-0. All total, 13 teams out of 116 across the state remain undefeated … Utah Military Academy-Camp Williams at 0-3 is the only county team that hasn’t posted a victory yet in 2024 while a total of 10 teams statewide don’t have a win yet. Three of those teams are in 4A Region 10 with Cottonwood, Hillcrest and Jordan all winless so far … Richfield extended its state-leading winning streak to 18 games by defeating 1A Kanab 41-27 … Utah County teams went 5-4 in games outside of the valley and are 39-23 so far in 2024.
