1 / 2

Springville's Beckett Burton (15) throws a pass against Provo in a high school football game on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

2 / 2

The Orem football team takes the field against Spanish Fork in a high school game on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

❮ ❯

Last year Springville employed an interesting offensive attack employing three different quarterbacks behind center. Lisiate “Rock” Valeti and Tua Naufahu primarily took snaps when Springville wanted to employ its rugged running attack. The Wildcat packages often looked like single wing formations of yesteryear.

But also getting his opportunities was Beckett Burton, the passing quarterback. Valeti and Naufahu have graduated, so Burton is definitely the man leading things for the Red Devils. And the senior is having a good time being in charge.

“It’s a lot more fun,” Burton said of his increased playing time. “It’s a lot more passing for sure. Last year, we had the power running game, but this year we have a lot of really good skill players so let’s mix it up a bit,” .

Burton, who led his team to a convincing 34-8 win over Pleasant Grove Friday, was quick to hand out praise to his teammates.

“My O-line played beautifully and they gave me all the time to make the throws.”

Springville hasn’t completely gone away from its bruising run game philosophy. Treyton Harris is fully capable of moving the pile and had a touchdown run of 16 yards.

“Treyton is a dog,” said Burton of his running back. “We can give him the ball and he takes it down their throats every time.”

Grades matter

It’s midterm time in our schools and midterm time for the regular season for Utah prep high school football. So let’s give out some grades of how our Utah County teams are doing, tying performance with expectations (in alphabetical order).

American Fork: The Cavemen are off to a good start and are 4-1 with their only loss being to Mater Dei, a nationally ranked team from California. And even in that defeat, the Cavemen were respectable. Things are going to get more difficult as American Fork hits the road to take on Davis before entering the arduous gridiron wars of 6A Region 3. Grade: A-.

American Leadership Academy (ALA): The Eagles made history going 4-0 for the first time in the program’s 20-year history. The only thing that dings their grade a bit was a blowout loss in Week 5 when they traveled to Monroe to take on South Sevier. The big goal now is for ALA to have its first winning season ever and that is still certainly within reach. Grade: A-.Pioneers have won two straight. But things are going to get rough with Region 3 ahead and also a non-league tilt against currently undefeated Herriman. Grade: B-.

Lone Peak: At 3-2 the Knights’ only losses were to nationally ranked teams IMG Academy out of Florida and Bishop Gorman out of Las Vegas. The Knights looked especially good blowing out Timpview last week and still a serious contender for the 6A title. Grade: B.

Maple Mountain: Yes, the Golden Eagles at 2-3 have doubled last year’s total in victories but losing to Payson at home last week had to sting and the rest of the 5A Region 7 slate still awaits. Grade: C-.

Mountain View: The Bruins are 2-3 and the one-point loss to Payson to open their season still hurts a bit. For Mountain View to make the playoffs, it really needs to win two of its next five games at a minimum which is certainly doable. Grade: C.

Orem: The returning 5A champs are 3-2 but those losses are to 6A Skyridge in a competitive battle and to Mater Dei (Calif.) who the Tigers played well. Orem appears not only as the team to beat in Region 7 but in all of 5A. Grade: B+.

Payson: The Lions got a nice win against Maple Mountain and are at 3-2 at the midpoint of the regular season. Things will probably be tougher as the Lions go deeper into their Region 7 season but Payson should have enough RPI points if it can pick up another win in the final stretch. Grade: B+.

Pleasant Grove: The Vikings at 3-2 are improving though the game last week against Springville was a bit of a let down and a reality check. There are still some winnable games and having a winning season and playoff berth should be the expectations for the Viking faithful. Grade: B.

Provo: The Bulldogs have played a rugged schedule the first half of the season and started 0-3. This season is eerily similar to last year’s where after a slow start, the Bulldogs found their footing when league play rolled around and strung a bunch of wins in a row to a semifinal run. Grade: C+.

Salem Hills: The Skyhawks are 3-2 but easily could be 5-0. To win or at least get a piece of the league crown, Salem Hills needs to win the rest of its games and hope for Provo to stumble. Still, Salem Hills should be a formidable opponent for any team in the playoffs. Grade: B.

Skyridge: The Falcons lost their opener to Mountain Ridge but the Sentinels are 5-0 so that loss doesn’t quite look so bad. Skyridge will now focus on league play and the Falcons will only play nine regular season games having a bye in Week 9. Grade: B+.

Spanish Fork: The Dons are 3-2 but easily could be 4-1. However, the blowout loss last week to Orem was a bit of a wake-up call that Spanish Fork has a ways to go to get into the 5A elite. Grade: B.

Springville: The Red Devils put forward their best game of the season last week in cruising to a 34-8 win over Pleasant Grove. Being blown out by Orem was a bit of a downer for the faithful but the Red Devils will be a tough out when the 5A playoffs roll around. Grade: B.

Timpanogos: The Timberwolves beat who they are supposed to beat but in their tougher games haven’t been as competitive perhaps as the faithful would have hoped. But Timpanogos is still 2-0 in 4A Region 8 play and big contests with Provo and Salem Hills remain. Grade: B+.

Timpview: The Thunderbirds are a bit of an enigma at 2-3. Timpview looked great, crushing Payson 48-3 but looked lost against Lone Peak, being blanked 41-0. The Thunderbirds meet Orem in two weeks and that should serve as a real barometer on where Timpview fits in the 5A gridiron wars. Grade: C.

Utah Military Academy Camp Williams (UMACW): The Marauders are 3-2 and scored a big 47-0 shutout win against Monument Valley last week. The goal now is to have a winning season and beating their UMA rival at Hillfield will go a long way to meeting that goal. Grade: B.

Big Game of the Week: The crowd should absolutely be huge as Lehi (3-2) hosts Skyridge (4-1) in a battle of archrivals to open up 6A Region 3 play. This game will be played Thursday night with kickoff at 7 p.m.

Another Big Game of the Week: Lone Peak (3-2) visits Corner Canyon (4-1) in a rematch of the 6A championship game from last year. All three losses these two teams have suffered have come to out-of-state teams and the Chargers would love to tell their challengers that the road to the 6A title goes through Draper.

Yet Another Big Game of the Week: Timpanogos (3-2, 2-0) visits Salem Hills (3-2, 1-1) in a critical 4A Region 7 clash. There is undoubtedly more pressure on the Skyhawks with their one loss in league play and dropping another game would take them right out of the race.

Extra points: Ben Lomond snapped its 25-game losing streak beating Moffat County High School out of Craig, Colorado 17-0. … Two schools, East and Cottonwood, haven’t scored a point in the 2026 season. Something will have to give as the two teams play in the final week of the season. … Cottonwood now has the state’s longest losing streak at 23 games. … Ridgeline has now won 19 straight games. … Utah County teams were 6-3 in games against out-of-valley competition and stand at a very solid 30-16 overall record.

Friday Night Heroes

Lone Peak WR Jaxon Cloward

Cloward had three catches for 87 yards with two of them being touchdowns as Lone Peak thrashed Timpview 41-3.

Lehi RB Cam Bryce

Bryce ran for 209 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries as the Pioneers topped Weber 28-14.

Maple Mountain K/DL Israel Vaenuku

Vaenuku booted three field goals of 47, 30 and 27 yards and recovered a fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to account for 15 of Maple Mountain’s points though the Golden Eagles still fell to Payson 27-22.

Payson WR Valentin Sanchez

Sanchez caught two touchdown passes. The first one was 17 yards but the second one of 51 yards catapulted Payson to a 27-22 come-from-behind win at Maple Mountain.

Springville WR/DB Sioasa “Leka” Toki

was all over the place in Springville’s 34-8 win over Pleasant Grove. Toki had 147 yards on eight catches and touchdown receiving and added a 91-yard pick six.

Lehi WR Hendrix Cluff

Cluff had two punt returns of touchdowns, one of 60 yards and another of 50 yards which provided the difference in the outcome as Lehi beat Weber 28-14.

Skyridge QB Jagger Fountaine

Fountaine tossed five touchdown passes on just 15 completions as Skyridge blasted Skyline 42-7.

Timpanogos QB Logan Holloway

Holloway led the T-Wolves to a 41-21 win over Wasatch by throwing for three touchdowns and 221 yards while completing 16-of-25 pass attempts.

Timpanogos WR Jace Spencer

Spencer hauled in eight catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns for the T-Wolves.

Springville K Phoenix Marks

Marks nailed two field goals of 29 and 38 yards to go along with seven touchbacks as Springville topped Pleasant Grove 34-8.

Orem RB Beckham Curtis

Curtis crossed the goal line three times, rushing for 95 yards on 13 carries, as Orem shut out Spanish Fork 48-0.

Payson QB Landon Robbins

Robbins threw three touchdown passes in Payson’s win at Maple Mountain.