Prep Rewind: Week 2 was a tough one for Utah Valley football teams
Prep Rewind
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- Pleasant Grove’s Landan Forstpointner and Tavake Wolfgramm celebrate a touchdown in a high school football game on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Pleasant Grove. (Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald)
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- Lone Peak’s Phil Mounga looks for space to run versus IMG Academy. August 21, 2026
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- Provo’s Penieli Pan (right) dives past a pair of Crimson Cliffs defenders in a high school football game on Friday, August 21, 2026.
Nixon Warren is truly a remarkable athlete who has had a huge presence in the Spanish Fork athletic program.
Warren has been a key figure in the Dons’ back-to-back state titles in baseball and he is also a difference maker on the gridiron, seldom coming off the field. Though Warren is better known for his baseball accolades as a two-time first team All-State player, he is still enjoying playing football.
“Baseball has always been my love,” Warren said after his team earned a thrilling 33-28 win over county rival Salem Hills. “With the new coaching staff this year, it’s been amazing. I’ve absolutely loved it (playing football). This group of guys, I just can’t express it.”
Warren plays both ways and statistically he had one of his quieter games Friday night when Spanish Fork defeated Salem Hills 33-28.
On offense, Warren is a bit of a Swiss Army knife as he had three rushing attempts for 23 yards and two catches for 11 yards. And on defense he also lines up all over the place and often gets called upon to cover the other team’s best receiver. But even though he didn’t light up the stat sheet, Warren was extremely happy for the win and deferred a lot of credit to his teammates, especially the defense that made one last stand to preserve the victory.
“It was huge getting that last defensive stand. Everyone stepped up there, especially our linebackers,” Warren said. “Our defense gave up a lot of points last week (losing to Snow Canyon 64-62 in triple overtime), but we made defense a huge emphasis this week. We just stepped up and our guys did a great job. I’ll do anything to help the team win.”
Skyridge ends Orem’s winning streak
Skyridge earned a 21-14 victory against Orem on Saturday, snapping the Tigers’ 12-game winning streak. The Falcons trailed 14-7 going into the final stanza before scoring two-fourth quarter touchdowns. Skyridge’s Jagger Fountaine tossed for two touchdowns while Beckham Bennett’s 4-yard run with 3:35 remaining put the Falcons ahead for good.
Eagles win another one
For the second straight week, American Leadership Academy earned a heart-stopping victory. In the season opener, the Eagles beat Carbon 23-21 in overtime. This time, ALA traveled to Parowan and found themselves trailing the Rams 27-24. But with 19 seconds left Cooper DuPaix found Carter Crandall in the end zone with the go-ahead score. The Rams made it interesting driving inside Eagle territory but their last ditch pass fell incomplete. ALA now stands as the only unbeaten team in Utah County.
Pick six fun
Spanish Fork’s Tayvin Maldonado had a 45-yard pick six which proved huge as Spanish Fork slid past Salem Hills 33-28. Orem’s Kaio Akana had a 30-yard romp, though the Tigers fell to Skyridge 21-14. And Provo’s Brexton Hunter had two interceptions and one return went to the house on a 20-yard score though the Bulldogs still lost to Crimson Cliffs 31-13.
Not a record you want to set
Lone Peak suffered its worst loss in school history when the Knights were annihilated by IMG Academy, Fla., 59-3. The contest was called after the third quarter due to the new mercy rule that ends the game after three quarters if a team is ahead by 44 or more points. Lone Peak’s previous worst defeat came in 2004 when the Knights were shut out by Timpview 42-0. IMG Academy, by the way, is ranked No. 5 in the nation by Max Preps.
Big game of the week
American Fork (1-1) will visit Timpview (1-1) in another 6A Region 3 vs. 5A Region 7 encounter. Both teams took losses last week when American Fork lost at nationally ranked Mater Dei, Calif. (31-11) while Timpview was crushed by Corner Canyon 40-7. It stands to reason that the Cavemen will be the favorites though Timpview has the home field advantage. American Fork has won three in a row in the series, with the Thunderbirds last winning in 2018 (33-25).
Another big game of the week
The 0-2 Provo Bulldogs will visit Springville (1-1). Both have a common opponent in Green Canyon who Springville beat 27-0 last week but who Provo lost to in Week 1 10-6. The Bulldogs have been okay defensively but have struggled on the offensive side of the ball. Springville has shown more offensive punch scoring 35 and 27 points, respectively. so it’s going to be a tough task for Provo to avoid going 0-3 to start the season.
Yet another big game of the week
Westlake hosts Olympus in a battle of 1-1 teams. The Thunder offense struggled as they were shut out by Pleasant Grove 14-0 Friday. Meanwhile, the Titans lost to rival Skyline 21-16 in the Battle for the Rock. Both teams seem to be a bit enigmatic as Olympus beat Westlake’s rival Cedar Valley 42-14 in week one while Westlake doubled up Highland 42-21. If the Thunder really want to show that they have gone up a level in 6A, this is a game they need to win.
Extra points: Jake Woolstenhume scored the first touchdown in Deer Creek history. hauling in a 6-yard pass from Kai Betsinger. Brodey Ferguson then hit the program’s first extra point. Still, the Riverhawks were soundly beaten by Hillcrest 53-7 … Deseret Peak was so close to getting its first win in school history but North Sanpete spoiled things winning in overtime 22-21. The game was tied in regulation 14-14 and Deseret Peak scored first in overtime. But the Hawks answered with a touchdown of their own and then gambled and won with a successful two-point conversion extending the Deseret Peak losing streak to 12 games … Things are not going well for Cottonwood. The Colts lost their 21st straight game and the 4A program was crushed by 1A Duchesne 69-0. In the previous week Cottonwood was routed by North Sanpete 57-0, trailing 50-0 at half … Speaking of Duchesne, the Eagles’ 69 points were the most scored by any team in Week 2. Monticello put up 68 in its 68-35 win over Utah Military Academy Camp Williams … There were 15 shutouts in Week 2 and four involved Utah County teams. Pleasant Grove shut out Westlake 14-0, Springville blanked Green Canyon 27-0 and Mountain Ridge mauled Lehi 42-0. Viewmont secured its second shutout victory and has outscored their opponents 74-0 … Ben Lomond now has a state-leading 23-game losing streak. The Scots last win was October 12, 2023 when they beat rival Ogden 21-7 … Ridgeline extended its state-leading winning streak to 16 games, downing Park City 31-9. Meanwhile, Cedar City’s 14-game winning streak came to an end as the Reds were defeated by Pine View 34-20 … Utah County schools had an uncharacteristic bad week going 5-8 in its games against out-of-valley teams for an 8-8 overall record after two weeks.
Friday Night Heroes
James Buck, RB, Spanish Fork
Buck rushed the ball 19 times for 143 yards with four touchdowns. Buck also caught two passes for 50 yards as the Dons beat rival Salem Hills 33-28.
Cash Hollingshead, QB, Salem Hills
Hollingshead accounted for 351 total yards of offense though Salem Hills fell to Spanish Fork 33-28. The SkyHawk quarterback had 307 yards passing and three touchdowns with 44 yards rushing and another TD on the ground.
Clayton Lignell, LB, Pleasant Grove
Lignell has 13 tackles (six solo) and a tackle for loss as well as a touchdown reception in a 14-0 shutout of Westlake.
Jordan Gardner, RB, UMA-Camp Williams
Though UMACW lost to Monticello 68-35, Gardner rushed for three touchdowns including a 52-yard scamper.
Israel Vaenuka, K, Maple Mountain
Vaenuku connected on two field goals. including a 41-yarder, as the Golden Eagles downed Riverton 27-17.
Apollo McQuivey, RB, Maple Mountain
McQuivey rushed 20 times for 129 yards and a touchdown as the Golden Eagles rushed for 303 yards against Riverton.
Cash Thacker, QB, Cedar Valley
Thacker had four touchdown passes to lead the Aviators to a 26-19 win over Elko, Nevada.
Ryder Amador, WR, Cedar Valley
Amador caught two touchdown passes of 41 and 37 yards respectively to help the Aviators get their first win of the season.
Tayvin Maldonado, LB, Spanish Fork
Maldonado had an interception return for a touchdown that covered 45 yards. The junior also registered eight tackles, one sack and had a huge pass deflection that led to an interception by Caleb Grant that sealed Spanish Fork’s 33-28 victory over Salem Hills.
Mason Ober, RB, American Leadership Academy
Ober ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Eagles got a come-from-behind 30-27 win against Parowan.
Treyton Harris, RB, Springville
Harris went over the goal line three times leading Springville to a 27-0 win over Green Canyon in a battle between the 2025 5A and 4A runners-up.
Hyrum Stafford, QB, Mountain View
Stafford had two touchdown passes of 44 and 41 yards, respectively, as the Bruins got their first win of the season topping Tooele 34-13.
