Bingham football yearbook: Palepoi feature

Here's an article I wrote on Bingham High School running back Daniel Palepoi for the team's football yearbook.

Daniel Palepoi:

Bruising running back was key figure
in Miners’ bid for another state title

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

Daniel Palepoi’s high school football career certainly didn’t follow a straight line.

Palepoi, a bruising 5-foot-11, 225-pounder, was the youngest of 14 kids and moved to Salt Lake from Las Vegas prior to his junior year and lived with his sister.

Although he had been used primarily on the defensive line and at linebacker, Bingham coach Dave Peck knew his brother, Anton, was in the NFL. Peck immediately viewed Daniel as the successor to Harvey Langi, the Miners’ all-time rushing leader who graduated last year.

“We saw him as being our ‘go-to’ guy,” Peck said.

Palepoi remembered how the change took place.

“Bingham wanted me at fullback or linebacker,” he recalled. “Coach Keith (Chatelain) saw me catch some passes and that’s how it started.”

As a junior, Palepoi carried just 20 times and averaged 10 yards per carry. As a senior, he opened the season with a 170-yard performance against West Jordan and was a workhorse the next week against Alta, carrying the ball 29 times at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Perhaps just as importantly, he helped the Miners dominate time of possession and keep it out of Alta’s hands.

“My offensive line made me look better than I was,” Palepoi said. “It was tough for a guy like me to come in after Harvey Langi. I was kind of scared to fill his shoes.”

That fear didn’t last long. Palepoi had injury issues all year, but finished with 1,180 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry and was an even bigger workhorse than Langi. He carried the ball 182 times, despite missing 2.5 games with a concussion suffered against Lone Peak and the outcome still in doubt.

“I don’t remember much about that game,” he said.

Most everyone else did.

In front of a full stadium and a locally televised audience, they remember that Palepoi had 113 yards on 19 carries in the first half as Bingham trailed just 21-17. The Miners actually took the lead in the third period on a run by Tonga Manu, but the offense couldn’t keep up.

Palepoi watched the rest of that game from the sidelines, and Peck had to find an alternative until he was ready to return.

“It was tough because Daniel gives you the power and the speed combination," Peck said. "I wasn’t taking any chances with it. At that point in the season, the No. 1 thing was getting healthy."

With the defense dominating opponents, Palepoi wasn’t necessarily needed. He remained out until Bingham’s “Senior Night” game against Pleasant Grove. Remembering that contest put a big smile on his face. He rushed for 212 yards on just 14 carries and scored three touchdowns.

“That was my best game,” Palepoi said. “The week before, they (the Vikings) had lost to Lone Peak by just 17-0 and they were all hyped up.”

Palepoi had scoring runs of 2, 72 and 55 yards in the 41-0 victory. He enjoyed being on the field that night and admitted to having an extra skip in his step. Putting Palepoi in the backfield again also fueled his teammates, who wanted another shot at Lone Peak with him at full strength.

It never happened, of course, but that only left questions of “what if.” Still, there were too many good memories to be disappointed.

“I think I’ll remember the Alta game most,” Palepoi said. “It was well-publicized and they said they would beat us and everyone had us as the underdog. Coach Peck told me that I might have 30 carries, but I didn’t believe he was serious.”

It turned out that was Palepoi’s introduction to how important he would be for Bingham this season, regardless of how he got there.

Kearns rallies to beat Granger

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, I attended the Kearns-Granger boys basketball game. It was a close contest between west-side rivals. I wrote a nice article for the Kearns yearbook, which you can see below. I didn't get a chance to interview the Granger coach (Bernie Graziano), but hoped to get him later. Here's the story:

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

Kearns coach Dan Cosby came into Tuesday night’s game against Granger trying to find an offense that seemed disorganized.

The Cougars came in averaging less than 50 points per game. Even worse, Region 2 leader Viewmont had held them to 25 a few days before. Turns out it was the defense that inspired the offense in Kearns’ 52-45 win over rival Granger.

Taylor Yager scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Kearns rallied from an 11-point deficit to pull out the win on its home court. Dayon Goodman added 17 points. However, despite those impressive statistics, it was the defense that saved the game.

“We had really been struggling over the last … seven quarters,” said Cosby. “We have really been trying to find our identity.”

Trailing 31-25 entering the fourth quarter, Kearns employed a box-and-one defense against Granger’s Isaiah Tademy. The gimmick worked well. Tademy still scored all 14 of Granger’s points in the final period, but Kearns forced several turnovers and changed the games momentum.

“We knew he (Tademy) liked to shoot the outside shot, and didn’t want to go inside,” Cosby said. “We made him pass the ball and see if the other guys could beat us.”

They couldn’t. Tademy finished with an amazing 33 points. The 6-foot-6 senior was obviously the best player on the court. His statistics were extraordinary. He showed his three-point shooting ability, but also connected on 18-of-20 free throws and added 10 rebounds.

Funny thing, thought. When Kearns adjusted its defense to focus on him, Granger only tried harder to feed him the ball.

Going into the fourth quarter with a 31-26 lead, Granger recognized that Kearns had increased its defensive pressure and just handed the ball to its star player and asked him to make a play. He scored on four consecutive possessions to give his team a 39-34 lead.

He couldn’t keep it up, however, and Granger’s problem was turnovers. They had 26 of them, and Kearns became a fast-breaking club in the fourth quarter with Yager leading the way. After Dayon Goodman scored to tie the game with 3:28 left, Yager swept to the basket, thanks to a nice screen from teammate Afuvai Le’iato, and scored on a layup and Kearns had its first lead.

The small, but vocal Kearns crowd went crazy and the players recognized it. Quickly the game got out of hand.

Goodman scored inside and then Yager poured it on with six straight points. In less than two minutes, Kearns had built an eight-point lead.

“Taylor wants to play at the next level (college) and I told him, ‘you have to show you are’ and he did that tonight,” Cosby said.

Cosby also praised Jarvis Andrews (7 points, 11 rebounds) and Kyle Runyon for their play. The 27-point fourth quarter was a season high and also gave Kearns momentum for the future.

Only time will tell if it lasts.

GAME SUMMARY

Granger 12 9 10 14 - 45
Kearns 5 8 12 27 - 52

GRANGER (45) – Israel Tademy 0-4 0-1 0, Zach Buchanan 1-5 3-3 5, Mo Valladolid 2-7 0-0 4, Isaiah Tademy 6-10 18-20 33, Taylor Pili 1-6 0-2 2, Makol Mawien 0-0 1-2 1, Arob Mandang 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Wetenkamp 0-1 0-0 0, Alonso Delatorre 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-33 22-29 45.
KEARNS (52) – Taylor Yager 6-11 8-10 20, Afuvai Le’iato 1-7 1-4 3, Skyler Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Jarvis Andrews 3-7 1-4 7, Dayon Goodman 6-10 3-5 17, Kyle Runyon 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Harvey 0-4 1-2 1, Tanner Westenskow 0-0 1-2 1, Darrell Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Lehi Afatasi 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-41 15-27 52.
Total fouls: Granger 23, Kearns 20. Fouled out: Pili. Technical fouls: Buchanan, Yager.
Three-point shooting: Granger 3-11 (Isaiah Tademy 3). Kearns 3-6 (Goodman 2, Yager).
Rebounds: Kearns 28 (Andrews 11), Granger 24 (Isaiah Tademy 10).
Turnovers: Granger 26, Kearns 23.

I'm back - and BUSY

I've been working with a lot of different people regarding my "Matchup" business, including a guy who has informed me how important social media can be. I'm so busy, and doing a lot of writing, so I'm going to once again begin posting my articles here on this blog. That way, you can see them and note what I'm doing.

So, here we go. Look for a bunch of new blogs soon.

BRUCE

Olympus Beats Bingham

High school basketball in Utah is in full swing and, on Dec. 15, I attended a game between top-ranked Bingham and Olympus.

I was considering the West Jordan at Brighton contest, but I received word that the Deseret News would be there. Since part of my goal is to cover games the other media doesn't, I chose Oly-Bingham because I thought it would be a great matchup.

It was. Nicholas Paulos scored 22 points, and Paulos, Ben Sonntag and Joe Bourne hit some key free throws down the stretch as the Titans held off Bingham 68-63 in a non-region game.

It was Bingham's first loss. The game had a great high-school atmosphere. Oly led for most of it, but Bingham made a nice rally to make it close at the end. Certainly Bingham wasn't happy to lose, but the Miners played hard and showed a lot of grit.

To read my game story, click here, and then scroll to the game.

Afterward, I found Bingham coach Mark Dubach and asked to interview him. Dubach is a volatile coach during the game, but was very nice afterward. However, he declined to be interviwed. He said, "I only talk after wins."

I guess we can add that little eccentricity to our knowledge of Dubach. I had spoken to him earlier in the day, and he seemed like a nice guy. There's a lot more to learn about him, so now I know.

I found Olympus coach Matt Barnes, and he always likes to talk to the media. Barnes said he and Dubach attended Olympus High together back in the mid-1980s. Barnes was the school's basketball star (judging from all the school records he owns) and he said Dubach was the school's baseball phenom.

Barnes talked about his team. He said Paulos is still recovering from mononucleosis, but is getting into form on the basketball court. Paulos had a great game, nailing 6-6 free throws (the fans call him "automatic") and a couple of three-pointers. He's a good guy to have the ball near the end of the game.

Will Watkins sported a cut near is right eye in practice Monday. The cut was covered with a bandage during the game, but reopened when he got hit while battle Shad Sommerville for a rebound. He had to leave the game with a trainer, but returned shortly afterward.

What makes Olympus so impressive is they four players who are 6-6, one 6-5 and three 6-4 guys. And they can all play.

If Oly could get Bourne to shoot a little better (2-6 on free throws tonight), they would be a state title contender.

Here are a few other things I noticed:

* - Bingham's MVP was Sommerville. The guy is dynamite. He had 23 points, and seemed to score whenever Bingham needed it. If I had to pick one guy from Bingham's lineup for my team, he would be my choice.
* - Ben Clifford is good, too. He's 6-8, and had a nice game with 19 points and seven rebounds, even though he was in foul trouble. He also seems to be a man of many talents. Late in the game, Bingham set up a play for Clifford to shoot a three-pointer. It was a nice shot, but missed. Still, the fact that the play was set up for him says something.
* - Late in the game, when Clifford had four fouls, Oly tried to get him to commit another. Several Bingham players came to his aid, and that was impressive, even to Oly fans.
* - I was also impressed with Oly's Andrew Pellatt. He's the 6-5 guy who was often matchup against Clifford. Pellatt didn't show me much against Box Elder, but he was awesome against Bingham. He had six points and six rebounds, and made several big plays. He's also another example of how deep Olympus seems to be.
* - Lastly, Bingham's three top players (Sommerville, Nate Girsberger and Clifford) accounted for 58 of Bingham's 63 points. The Miners need more help from guys like Ty Hannay, Michael Arnell, Spencer Brown, Logan Parker, etc... If Bingham is going to win the 5A state title, at least one other guy has to step up.

Covering Olympus-Box Elder

Today was a fun day. I was getting ready to attend a local high school basketball game when James Edward, the prep editor of the Deseret News, called and asked me to cover a game.
He suggested the Olympus-Box Elder matchup, so I headed over there tonight. There wasn’t a big crowd, but it was an entertaining game.
Olympus won 50-36, but only pulled it out at the end, scoring the game's final 16 points. Afterward, I thought Box Elder coach Keith Mecham might be bent out of shape, but he was a class act.
I also debuted my new stat sheet, and it worked beautifully. There is a box score at the bottom of this blog (below). Now I'm able to keep multiple stats faster. I'm excited to cover future games.
As for this game, here are a few things I noticed:
* - Oly can't shoot. At least not yet. They hit just 35 percent of their shots (3-16 from three-point land). Point guard Joe Bourne threw up several bricks. He was 0-4 from the field and 2-5 from the free-throw line. Oly really doesn't have a true point guard. Bourne is the closest thing. He does other things well, but hit shot is off.
* - Box Elder guard Brant Mecham hit 0-12 shots, but at least he kept shooting. That's what a shooter does. Eventually those shots will fall. I know he was disappointed tonight, but he'll have great games, too. Coach Mecham wasn't worried.
* - Guard Nicholas Paulos didn't score. I kept waiting for him to make a difference in this game, but he never did. Coach Barnes said he has mononucleosis. Well, now I understand. I hope he gets better soon. He makes Oly a lot better team.
* - I got to the game early and spoke to a lot of Oly people, including coach Barnes, football coach Mike Smith, counselor (and amateur photographer) Julie Fairbourne and a few others. I like Olympus, and I also met some new people. It's also worth it to arrive early and get "in" to the game before tipoff.
Below is my game story, which I submitted to the Deseret News. There's also a detailed box score at the bottom. It appears I may also get to submit game stories to the Utahsportsaction.com website soon. I spoke to them today. That should be fun.

By Bruce Smith
For The Deseret News

Imagine the Olympus Titans as a light switch. For three and one-half quarters Friday night, it’s questionable whether or not it was working.
But for the last four minutes, there was no doubt.
Will Watkins scored 16 points, including the go-ahead three-point basket, as Olympus scored the game’s final 16 points and beat Box Elder 50-36 in a non-region game.
Obviously, the game was closer than the score indicated. Olympus led most of the way, but the Bees rallied behind the inspired play of guard Cody Eyre to take a 44-39 lead going into the final quarter.
“We played a good game. We limited them, and they’re a legitimate 70-point run-and-shoot team,” said Box Elder coach Keith Mecham.
That was true. Olympus was as a hot-shooting team last season, but this year’s team hasn’t looked so promising yet. Sharpshooter Nicholas Paulos has been hampered by an illness, and the team has yet to show the same marksmanship.
But the Titans scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and regained the momentum, forcing Mecham to quickly call a timeout. Unfortunately, it didn’t help.
“It is a gutty win,” said Olympus coach Matt Barnes, whose Titans improved to 3-0.
Barnes, of course, was more concerned with Oly’s third-quarter problem, an eight-minute time frame when Box Elder outscored the Titans 14-7. He noted that his team has had trouble immediately after halftime in each game this season, although that was only evident the last two games.
The Titans erased Box Elder’s lead quickly, forcing five fourth-quarter turnovers. Watkins, Connor Brady, Manny Riak, Joe Bourne and Spencer Harris scored to put the game away.
Box Elder didn’t score the last four minutes of the game. Eyre, who led the Bees with 13 points, hit some amazing shots early, but ended up 6-14 from the field because he always seemed to have a hand in his face in the fourth period.
The Bees’ leading scorer, Brant Mecham, also was handcuffed, but for the entire game. Mecham, the team’s leading scorer last year, whiffed on all 12 of his shots Friday. His only points came on 3-4 free throws.
“We did a nice job on him. He lit us up last year,” noted Barnes. “We really did turn up the defense in the last quarter.”
Keith Mecham noted that, too. He said once Watkins’ big trey gave Oly a 39-36 lead, his team also played differently.
“We were trying to put them away too early,” he said. “Once Watkins hit that shot, we kind of panicked.”
Box Elder was also forced to foul and Olympus, which hit just 13-22 charity shots for the game, hit most of them down the stretch.
Brady backed up Watkins with 15 points and Riak, who started in place of Paulos, had 10. Justus Brown and Chad Talbot had six points each for Box Elder. Talbot also had a game-high nine rebounds.

Box Elder 10 10 14 2 - 36
Olympus 13 9 7 21 - 50

BOX ELDER (36) – Munns 2-5 0-1 4, Eyre 6-14 0-1 13, Brown 3-7 0-0 6, Talbot 3-8, 0-0 6, Mecham 0-12 3-4 3, Barlow 1-2 2-3 4, Clawson 0-1 0-0 0, Mund 0-0 0-0 0, Jensen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 5-9 36.

OLYMPUS (50) – Riak 4-10 1-2 10, Bourne 0-4 2-5 2, Watkins 5-10 5-6 16, Brady 6-11 2-3 15, Sonntag 2-5 0-2 4, Pellatt 0-1 0-0 0, Paulos 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 0-3 3-4 3, Reynolds 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 13-22 50.

Total fouls: Box Elder 20, Olympus 13. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None. Three-point goals: Box Elder 1-15 (Eyre 1), Olympus 3-16 (Riak, Watkins, Brady). Rebounds: Box Elder 31 (Talbot 9), Olympus 35 (Bourne, Brady 7). Turnovers: Box Elder 17, Olympus 9. Blocked shots: Box Elder 4 (Brown, Talbot, Mecham, Clawson), Olympus 1 (Bourne).

Basketball season begins

The Utah high school basketball season has started and, on opening night, I decided to check out the Cottonwood at Taylorsville game.

Why that game? It was convenient. I will try to see each team in the area at least once this season, choosing the best games of the night. I also want to make sure I don't go to the same games the local media is covering.

There was a decent crowd at Taylorsville, and it was a good game. Afterward, I visited with both coaches and learned a lot more about their teams. I also used a new scoresheet, which helped me compile game stats.

Here is a game story I wrote, as well as statistics. I hope to cover 1-2 games a week from now on.

By Bruce Smith
MatchupUT.com

TAYLORSVILLE – In the season opener for both teams, the Cottonwood Colts left the gym with a good feeling, while the Taylorsville Warriors wondered what might have been.
The Colts got 17 points from senior Raymond Chavez, and blitzed the Warriors with steady three-point shooting, to earn a 56-53 victory in a non-region game.
Afterward, however, Taylorsville coach Ron Burnside was upset that this one got away. He felt Taylorsville had a lot more it could have shown the home crowd.
“We had our big guy out and that hurt us,” said Burnside, referring to 6-foot-7 senior Yai Ajak, who reportedly had a death in his family. “We didn’t rebound. We needed to have that big guy.”
Ajak’s departure basically meant this was a battle between two evenly matched, perimeter-oriented teams, and Cottonwood came away with the win for two reasons.
* - The Colts were able to bury three-pointers. As a team, they connected on 9-16 shots from beyond the arc, led by Chavez and Parker Vassau, who had three apiece.
* - The Colts hit a big basket, and prevented Taylorsville from doing the same. Holding a three-point lead with two minutes left, Cottonwood held the ball for a minute before Chavez found Tim Glenn on a backdoor cut, and Glenn responded with a layup. Taylorsville had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but never got a good look on a three-point shot.
Cottonwood coach Dave McConnell was happy how his team responded in key times, especially near the end.
“We wanted to put them to sleep and make them think we were going to stall,” he said.
McConnell said Glenn, a senior who had four points and four rebounds, was his team’s player of the game.
“He did a lot of things tonight without the ball, so he gets the game ball,” he said. “We couldn’t have done it without him.”
Besides the Colts’ late-game basket, there were two other times that Cottonwood responded well.
Trailing 12-7, Cottonwood opened the second quarter with eight straight points, including a pair of threes by Chavez, and never trailed again. Then, after a scoreboard snafu caused caused a brief delay in the third period, the Colts came out and put in a pair of treys.
Taylorsville was able to stay close, thanks primarily to the play of Andrew Togiai, who led the Warriors with 15 points, and the shooting of the Wright brothers – Wesley and Brady – who added 14 and 13.
“We competed well as a team,” said Burnside. “We have two slashers and two shooters, and that showed tonight. But I sure would like to see how we would do if we were at full strength.”


Cottonwood 7 17 23 9 - 56
Taylorsville 12 8 19 14 - 53

COTTONWOOD (56) – Chavez 4-7 6-8 17, Carter 0-2 1-2 1, Glenn 2-2 0-1 4, Kristensen 1-3 3-3 5, Dooley 1-4 0-0 2, Smith 3-6 2-4 10, Lundquist 2-4 0-1 5, Vassau 3-3 1-1 10, Malugin 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 17-35 13-22 56.
TAYLORSVILLE (53) – Togiai 5-9 3-3 15, Meters 1-3 2-2 4, W. Wright 6-10 0-0 14, McCloyn 2-7 3-4 7, Roper 0-1 0-0 0, Saelim 0-1 0-0 0, B. Wright 4-7 3-4 13. Totals 18-40 11-15 53.
Total fouls: Cottonwood 12, Taylorsville 17. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: McCloyn. Three-point goals: Cottonwood 9-16 (Chavez 3, Vassau 3, Smith 2, Glenn). Taylorsville 6-19 (Togiai 2, W. Wright 2, B. Wright 2). Rebounds: Cottonwood 22 (Glenn 4), Taylorsville 24 (Togiai 4). Turnovers: Cottonwood 17, Taylorsville 17.

Alta does it again

For the second consecutive week, I had the chance to cover the Alta High School football team. The Hawks defeated Cottonwood 37-13 in a 5A quarterfinal contest at Alta.

It was a beautiful day for football. Sunny skies, only a little bit of wind, with temperatures in the upper 50s. I wore a coat, but didn't need it until late in the game.

Alta is a great team. The Hawks don't beat themselves. They make you beat them. Cottonwood and Alta faced off in the first game of the regular season, and the Hawks dominated, 59-20. QB Jordan Brown is the offensive leader, and had a great game. But to beat Alta, you have to hold down their receivers.

Zach Liston, Skyler Mayne and Tyron Morris each had great games, and they made Brown look good. Alta's offensive line usually gave Brown time to throw, and Cottonwood couldn't keep up. With the win, Alta advanced to play Bingham in one 5A semifinal game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. In the other game, Hunter will play Davis.

I'm trying to avoid disrespecting Hunter and Davis, but you have to figure the Alta-Bingham winner will be favored in the 5A championship game. Alta is the two-time defending 5A champion, but Bingham should be favored to win next week's game because the Miners edged Alta earlier this year.

Cottonwood looked good in the first quarter of this game. QB Crosby Jensen hit Tim Glenn a few times and RB Nadan Hosea earned the majority of his yardage. The defense also stopped Alta on its first two drives. The Colts hurt themselves, though, when Jensen threw an interception that led to Alta's points. Cottonwood also settled for field goals, instead of touchdowns, and couldn't gain a lot of momentum.

This is Cottonwood's first year back in 5A, and the Colts were respectable, although they believe they should win it all. They simply don't have the depth and talent like Alta and Bingham ... not yet at least. Cottonwood finished with an 8-4 record, and lost to teams that are still playing. Cheers for Cottonwood for playing a tough schedule, and for challenging itself to be the best team possible.

Cheers also for both teams in that they played with class. In the first game they played, there was some on-field talk between the teams, and it may have lacked sportsmanship. This game was different.

So, what do I remember most from this game?

* - Realistically, it wasn't that memorable, except I believe I learned more about Alta's football team. That may come in handy next week when I watch the big semifinal contest. Steve Luhm was there, representing the Salt Lake Tribune. I used to work with Steve when were both at the Tribune, and he is a good guy. He's a big asset to the Trib's sports department, and it was a pleasure to hang out with them at this game.

* - Alta's receivers aren't that fast, but they're quick. They also broke a lot of tackles that led to big plays. Alta had four pass plays over 40 yards. What's sad is they are in the same region as Jordan's great receivers, so it's possible some of those guys won't make first team all-region, even though they might deserve it.

* - Cottonwood's uniforms. The Colts' colors are yellow, black and white, and they sometimes differentiate their uniforms for each game. I like that. Alta wears all black at home, with grey numbers. The numbers are somewhat difficult to read from a distance, but I've noticed a number of teams are going with that kind of design.

* - The homes that overlook Alta's field. They are above the stadium, on a small hill, and it gives the homeowners great views of the games. There are some disadvantages to east-facing homes, but if I lived there, I would host parties every night Alta plays at home.

* - The game started at 4 p.m., and it was a bright afternoon. Alta was on the west side of the field, and in the shade. Cottonwood was in the sun for most of the first half, and it couldn't have been comfortable. I noticed a lot of people there trying to shield their eyes from the sun. Steve and I stayed on Alta's sideline in the first half, then moved to the Cottonwood side after the sunset.

* - Parking. Last week, I found a nice parking spot. This time, I had to park in a nearby neighborhood. Still, the stadium wasn't full. It helps to arrive early, it seems, to get the best parking spot.

I got to the game late, so my statistics weren't as good as usual. However, the Cottonwood statisticians provided me with some info, so I was able to catch up. Here they are:

Cottonwood 3 3 0 7 - 13
Alta 3 13 21 0 - 37

A – FG Vance Bingham 41
C – FG Riley Harper 27
C – FG Harper 28
A – Tyron Morris 67 pass from Jordan Brown (Bingham kick)
A – FG Bingham 23
A – FG Bingham 28
A – Morris 70 pass from Brown (Bingham kick)
A – Skyler Mayne 3 run (Bingham kick)
A – Mayne 21 pass from Brown (Bingham kick)
C – Jason Lundquist 10 pass from Crosby Jensen (Harper kick)

Team statistics

First downs: Alta 20, Cottonwood 17
Rushes-yards: Alta 26-74, Cottonwood 28-116
Passing yards: Alta 432, Cottonwood 188
Passes: Alta 20-25-0, Cottonwood 17-45-1
Fumbles: Alta 0-0, Cottonwood 2-2
Penalties: Alta 8-77, Cottonwood 7-45
Punts: Alta 3-38.3, Cottonwood 4-50.2

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Alta – Eyring 10-34, Finnerty 7-33, Mayne 5-22, Jefferson 1-7, Brown 3 -(-14). Cottonwood – N. Hosea 25-98, K. Hosea 2-13, Carter 1-5.

PASSING: Alta – Brown 19-24-0-424, Handley 1-1-0-8. Cottonwood – Jensen 16-38-1-188.

RECEIVING: Alta – Liston 8-173, Mayne 8-86, Morris 3-166, Eyring 1-7. Cottonwood – Glenn 8-103, Lundquist 5-55, Roberts 2-16, N. Hosea 2-10, Beveridge 1-9, Jensen 1-(-1).