Preparation meets opportunity: Hales leads Salem Hills to first round win
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- Salem Hills coach Jeff Higginson (center) talks to his team during a time out in a 4A football state playoff game on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
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- Salem Hills and Mountain View met in a 4A state playoff game on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Ryder Hales tossed five touchdown passes as No. 12 seed Salem Hills defeated fellow Region 8 rival and No. 21 seed Mountain View 35-12 Friday night to advance to the second round of the 4A playoffs.
For Hales, the Skyhawk success on offense was due to the work that was done before the season even started.
“I just think preparation in the weeks throughout the summer and getting ready for the season,” he said. “Awesome job by the line. They worked hard all year long and we have a great line.”
Meanwhile, Salem Hills head coach Jeff Higginson had plenty of praise for his quarterback.
“He’s played really great all year for us,” Higginson said.
Higginson’s nephew, Peyton, caught two of those touchdown passes, the first one to open the scoring on a 9-yard connection and then the last of Hales’ TD passes which came in the third quarter. That play gave Salem Hills a 35-0 lead after Ammon Butler connected on his fifth extra point.
Hales also hooked up with Gordon Wilson on a 32-yard score, along with a 3-yard toss to Steven Taylor and a 9-yard connection with Joe Hughes.
Mountain View tallied two scores in the final stanza when Carter Vance plunged in from two yards and Briggy Moses hauled in a pass from Tate Johnson and ran through some Skyhawk defenders for a 25-yard score. The first Bruin PAT was blocked and an attempt to score on a swinging gate trick play on the second conversion also failed.
Even with a running clock, Salem Hills was able to play quite a few players which pleased the head coach.
“It was fun tonight. I think we got everyone in (the game) and it was great to get them in there,” Coach Higginson said. “It was fun for everyone, especially this late in the year. Everyone has been going hard. I was proud of them.”
With the win, Salem Hills (7-3) earned the right to take on No. 5 seed Provo (6-4) in another clash between 4A Region 8 teams. With the loss Mountain View finished its season with a 3-7 record.
A special connection: The halftime festivities ran a bit long and as the band scurried to get off the field, Higginson shared an embrace with band director Ryan Adair.
“Coach Adair does such a great job. What he does for our football team is amazing. They make a difference.” Higginson related. “I just told him ‘I love him and I’m proud of him.'”
“These kids are working their tails off, just like the football team,” Adair said. “We go side by side. The culture we have at this school is unmatched. Coach Higginson is our biggest fan and it’s not even close.”
Like the football team, the band delivered a stellar performance as it gets ready for its state competition in November.
