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American Fork's Noah Behm (5) comes down with an interception against Timpview in a high school football game on Friday, August 28, 2026. (Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald)

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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Timpview's Dennis Tua'one crosses the goal line against American Fork in a high school football game on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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The weather was a big story on Friday as a lot of games suffered from lightning delays.

The Spanish Fork-Sky View game in south county reportedly had three of them and finished close to midnight. The Desert Hills-Salem Hills game, just under five miles further down the road, had two lightning delays and finished around 11:20 p.m.

Both host teams were victorious in close contests as Spanish Fork slipped past the Bobcats 31-28 in an overtime thriller and Salem Hills downed Desert Hills 14-12. Even further south in Payson, the Lions pummeled Kearns 46-0 as that game ended early in the fourth quarter because of the new mercy rule. And yes, the thunderstorms and the accompanying lightning were more prominent in the southern part of Utah Valley causing lengthy delays.

Those pesky point-after attempts

In the NFL, the point-after try is nearly automatic, even when it was moved further back. At the high school level, the extra point is made well over 90% of the time which does leave some room for error. Going for the two-point conversion is another matter. Three games involving valley teams were decided by these point-after attempts.

Westlake beat Olympus 14-13 and a missed Titan extra point was the difference. Olympus took a 13-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter but missed the extra point. Then Westlake’s Malakai Leilua scored on a 2-yard plunge with 2:34 remaining to tie the score at 13-13. Logan Sorensen split the uprights on his extra point attempt and the Thunder defense rose up to preserve the win.

In the Deseret Hills-Salem Hills game, two separate failed two-point conversion attempts by Desert Hills were the difference. Desert Hills scored first and when a player from Salem Hills jumped offsides on the extra point, the Thunder coaching staff decided to go for two points. The Skyhawk defense stuffed the rush attempt. When the Thunder increased their lead to 12-0, the Thunder went for two points again and this time the passing attempt failed to connect. But when Salem Hills scored its touchdowns Jack Nelson was true on his kicks and that provided the margin of victory for the Skyhawks to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Timpview had two extra points blocked in its 28-26 loss at home to American Fork, forcing the T-Birds to go for two twice. They converted the first time but failed in the final four minutes of the contest.

Mountain View (2-1) went on the road to Roosevelt and got a big victory over Union 22-19. Both teams actually scored three touchdowns but Union failed on two of its tries. The Cougars led Mountain View 19-14 when the Bruins’ Brigham Moses caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Hyrum Stafford to go ahead 20-19. In this case, Mountain View decided to go for the two-point conversion which was successful putting them up 22-19 and requiring Union to score a field goal to tie the score. But the Bruin defense stood tall and got a big road win.

ALA remains undefeated

The Eagles ventured to Ely, Nev., to take on White Pine High School and shut out the home team 31-0. ALA did most of its damage on the ground. rushing 220 yards total. Mason Ober led the team with 78 yards on 12 carries while Eagle quarterback Cooper DuPaix had 52 yards on 10 rushing attempts while also passing for 88 yards. Jonah Ahokovi led the defense with six tackles including one for loss.

Mixed Results

It wasn’t just ALA that played out-of-state competition. Skyridge tripped up Hun, N.J., 31-24 in a very entertaining game played Saturday. But Lehi was no match for St. James Performance Academy out of Virginia, which throttled the Pioneers 66-0. Meanwhile, Orem put up a game effort against Mater Dei, Calif., ranked No. 9 nationally by Max Preps. The Tigers lost just 32-26 and fought back to tie up the game at 26-26 before the Monarchs put the game away with a score in the final stanza. It was the second straight victory for Mater Dei against Utah opponents as the Monarchs beat American Fork 31-11 the previous week.

Maple Mountain went to South Pasadena, California and won 36-7.

Valley teams aren’t quite done with playing prestigious out-of-state programs. Lone Peak will host top-ranked Bishop Gorman out of Las Vegas and the Knights will hope not to have a performance like they had against IMG Academy from Florida. Lone Peak is a bit more familiar with Bishop Gorman having played them for the past several seasons. Last year’s game had a bizarre result as the Knights had to forfeit the game in the third quarter when too many players ran onto the field during a scuffle (this is a special rule in Nevada prep football). Meanwhile, Lone Peak’s rival Skyridge will head off to Las Vegas to take on Liberty.

Big Game of the Week

5A Region 7 begins league play this week and right off the bat it features a dandy match-up between Orem (1-2) and Springville (2-1), the two teams that played for 5A state championship last year. Though the Tigers are 1-2, they looked good in defeat against 6A powerhouse Skyridge and nationally ranked Mater Dei. Springville has won two in a row since dropping its opener against Alta 38-35. It will take an inspired effort by Springville to knock off the Tigers though playing in the Devil’s Den could help.

Another Big Game of the Week

Provo (0-3) will visit Salem Hills (2-1) in a Thursday night clash. It’s not that Salem Hills has played a soft schedule but Provo has gone through the grinder playing last year’s 4A runner-up Green Canyon, last year’s 4A semifinalist Crimson Cliffs and last year’s 5A runner-up Springville. With a lot of new faces on the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs have struggled. Even though it’s just the first week of league play in 4A Region 8, many see this as the game that could decide the league title. This game also features a special tribute to the military and veterans so get there early not to miss that.

Yet Another Big Game of the Week

Maple Mountain (2-1) will host Pleasant Grove (2-1). Both teams have played well since week one losses. The Golden Eagles have already surpassed their win total from 2025 and Pleasant Grove seems to be improving in Jeremy Lapan’s second year at the helm. This contest will be a good barometer to see where each program is at as they head into league play.

Extra points: Deer Creek (0-3) will host Wasatch (0-3) in this inaugural rivalry game between these two Heber Valley schools both desperate for victory. … Duchesne once again led the state in points scored, beating Ignacio, Colorado 73-0. Things get tougher for the Eagles as they visit traditional 1A powerhouse Beaver. … Some streaks continued as Ben Lomond lost its 24th straight game. Cottonwood’s misery continued as the Colts lost its 21st straight gridiron contest and the Colts have failed to score a point this season so far while yielding 177. Deseret Peak is still looking for its first win in school history. The Golden Eagles best shot at a victory this year will likely be this week when they visit rival Tooele. On the positive front, Ridgeline just won its 17th straight when the Riverhawks beat Brighton 52-24. Now archrival Mountain Crest at 3-0 hopes to bring that streak to an end. … Grantsville and Manti entered their faithful fans, putting up a combined 93 points as the Cowboys beat the Templars 47-46. Grantsville scored on the final play of the game on a 38-yard Hail Mary pass then executed the point after to win. … Utah County teams were 9-4 against out-of-valley competition last week moving their overall record to 17-12.

Friday (and Saturday) Night Heroes

Skyridge QB Jagger Fountaine

Fountaine had a splendid game against Hun, N.J., going 29-46 for 297 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 victory. Fountaine also added 38 yards on the ground.

Skyridge WR Omarian Sanders

Sanders caught eight passes for 113 yards to help Skyridge to its win.

Spanish Fork RB James Buck

Buck had another huge game on the ground rushing the ball 29 times for 191 yards as the Dons secured a 31-28 overtime victory over Sky View.

Spanish Fork K Preston Jones

Jones was 4-for-4 on his extra points and then split the uprights on a 31-yard field goal in overtime as Spanish Fork prevailed in its game against Sky View.

American Fork’s DL Dallin Afu

Afu made his presence on both sides of the ball in the Caveman victory over Timpview 28-26. Afu had one touchdown rushing and then recovered a fumble in the end zone in the final seconds of the first half that staked American Fork to a 21-14 lead.

Timpview QB Mathew Manuma

Manuma accounted for four Thunderbird scores with three coming through the air and another on the ground though Timpview fell to American Fork.

Timpview WR Dennis Tua’one

Tua’one caught touchdown passes of 35, 4 and 8 yards in the loss to American Fork.

Lone Peak QB Cruz Christensen

Christensen had four touchdown passes as Lone Peak lapped Skyline 45-3.

Mountain View QB Hyrum Stafford

Stafford threw three touchdown passes, including the game-winner to Briggy Moses with 4:01 to play in a 22-18 victory against Union.

Salem Hills WR/DB Peyton Higginson

Higginson had a great game on both sides of the ball to lead the Skyhawks to a 14-12 victory. He hauled in seven passes for 54 yards and a touchdown while on defense he registered 13 total tackles including one for a loss.

Salem Hill QB Cash Hollingshead

Hollingshead had a dominant game for the Skyhawks, passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the team with 76 yards on the ground on 13 carries.

Maple Mountain DB Tevita Kolomalu

Kolomalu scored on an 80-yard blocked field goal return, which ignited the Golden Eagles to three fourth quarter scores en route to a 36-7 win over South Pasadena, Calif.

Pleasant Grove RB Corbin Robbins

With his team trailing Green Canyon 23-20 in the fourth quarter, Robbins returned a kickoff 90 yards to the house to put the Vikings permanently on top 27-23.

Pleasant Grove LB Clayton Lignell

Lignell had 16 tackles and was credited with a pass defended as the Vikings topped Green Canyon.

Payson WR Valentin Sanchez

Sanchez hauled in two touchdown passes and had a 62-yard punt return to help the Lions rout Kearns 46-0.

Springville QB Beckett Burton

Burton had three touchdown passes to lead the Red Devils to a 28-14 win over Provo.