Spanish Fork leans on overtime experience to squeak out rivalry win over Salem Hills
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- Spanish Fork quarterback Nixon Warren runs to the end zone during overtime of a game against Salem Hills on Aug. 22, 2025, in Salem.
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- Spanish Fork’s Jordan Bunnell (7) carries the ball against Salem Hills in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Salem Hills quarterback Ryder Hales carries the ball in a high school football game against Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Jagger Archuleta of Salem Hills, right, takes down Spanish Fork’s Nixon Warren during a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Action from the Spanish Fork vs. Salem Hills prep football game on Aug. 23, 2025, in Salem
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- Salem Hills quarterback Ryder Hales looks to throw while under pressure from Spanish Fork’s Guss Johnson in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Spanish Fork’s Jacob Johnson, right, runs away from a Salem Hills defender in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Joe Hughes of Salem Hills (1) tries to escape the tackle of Spanish Fork’s Tayvin Maldonado in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate during an overtime high school football game against Salem Hills on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- The Salem Hills football team takes the field before a game against Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
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- Salem Hills fans react during a high school football game against Spanish Fork on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
It was the second play of overtime, and Nixon Warren didn’t even know the play call.
But Spanish Fork’s junior quarterback was used to these high-stress moments, having been a receiver in last year’s 5A state championship overtime game, and chose not to panic. Instead, he took the snap, rolled to his left and scrambled 20 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
“Having that (overtime) experience just made everyone calm here, and it seemed like just another play,” Warren said. “They called it in, and I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ but my line blocked it great, opened the big hole for me, and I was able to make a couple guys miss and score a touchdown.”
Though an early season nonregion matchup doesn’t compare to the state championship game, Friday night may have helped Spanish Fork exorcise some demons as it finished on the winning side of overtime this time, with a 35-28 road win over neighboring rival Salem Hills.
It was a win that required resiliency for the Dons, who saw a two-touchdown lead turn into a 28-21 fourth-quarter deficit, but they fought back to force overtime and delivered.
“We’ve been in that experience before, and the boys weren’t nearly as nervous,” coach Dustin Smith said. “We all felt like we would do a little bit better. And so I was really proud of the guys keeping their composure in what was a back-and-forth game. It’s always a good game against Salem, and it was a great win for us.”
On the contrary, it was a crushing loss for the Skyhawks, who scored 21 straight points then had an opportunity to win in regulation, driving into Dons territory in the waning minutes tied at 28.
But instead, Salem Hills turned the ball over on downs on a possession that was aided by a mistake from the referees that resulted in the loss of a play.
Holding was called on first down, backing Salem Hills to near midfield. But instead of replaying the down, the down marker said second down, and play proceeded. Salem Hills gained yards the next two possessions, but was unable to convert on 4th and 6 with 23 seconds to go.
“They got it wrong,” Salem Hills head coach Jeff Higginson said. “And I asked him about it, and they said it was right, but it wasn’t, and we looked at that again … but what do you do?”
Following Warren’s overtime touchdown, the Skyhawks had an opportunity to match, but were held down by the Dons, who forced a sack and back-to-back incompletions to seal it.
“That’s a team rivalry game, and it was all about unity for us,” Spanish Fork linebacker Jackson Beckstead said. “We came in last week from a loss, but we stepped it up, and we showed we can work as a team.”
Extra time seemed fitting for a game that had massive plays and momentum swings from each side.
Spanish Fork leapt out to a 21-7 lead behind pair of touchdown passes from Warren to Jakob Cloward and a 5-yard touchdown run by Caleb Grant set up by a fourth-down trick play.
Salem Hills forced itself back into the game though with a wave of explosive plays. A 46-yard touchdown pass from Ryder Hales to Joe Hughes shaved the lead to seven before halftime, and Benjamin Staheli took a screen pass from Hales 65 yards to tie the game in the third quarter. The lead came on an excellent 31-yard toe-tapping touchdown grab by Gordon Wilson.
But the Dons were able to counter with a 14-play, run-heavy drive that included a fourth-down conversion and ended with a 5-yard wildcat touchdown run by Grant.
The Dons made the rest of the big plays that followed.
“We knew Salem is a big play offense. They always have been,” Smith said. “If you can minimize their big plays, you have a chance to beat them, but they’ve got some really good athletes, so it’s really hard to minimize those. So I expected they’d have some. We just had to have a couple ourselves. And fortunately, you know, we got one more than they did.”
It was a get-right game for a Spanish Fork team that showed growth from last year’s heartbreaking overtime loss. For Salem Hills, it’s a loss that came with a dose of misfortune, and will require some soul-searching.
“You have to learn that in life, adversity strikes, and when it strikes, you have to find a way,” Higginson said. “And it’s not just on the football field. It can be in school, it can be in a marriage. It can mean everything. So you have to fight and find a way. You have to have a little grit. You have to finish. And sometimes, when it’s hard and you don’t do that, you have to suffer the consequences.”
