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AROUND THE BEEHIVE — Maybe it was the drive back to St. George after a weather delay or the emotional hangover of a road win broadcast on local television on the opening night of the 2022 football season, but a week after Desert Hills' 28-21 victory over Brighton, the Thunder were not in a good spot.
Trailing Cedar Hills 21-0 at halftime, Desert Hills coach Rick Berry challenged his team — and the Thunder accepted.
Tristin John kicked a game-winning field goal from 25 yards out in overtime, and Desert Hills outscored the Aviators 28-7 after the break to stay unbeaten with a 31-28 win in St. George.
"After being down 21-0 at half, we made adjustments and challenged our kids to come out, show the heart that I know they have," Desert Hills coach Rick Berry told the Deseret News. "I was proud of how they responded and overcame the adversity of the week."
Tyden Morris added 98 yards on 11 carries, including a 20-yard touchdown sprint that forced overtime with 25 seconds remaining.
The 6-foot senior also caught four passes for a team-high 28 yards, and Beau Wall ran for 51 yards and a score in addition to 71 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception.
That helped the Thunder overturn the big deficit to Cedar Valley, which jumped out to a 21-0 advantage when Taygen Hansen returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown with 5:12 left in the half.
Still, Desert Hills regrouped and held the visitors to just one score — Cooper Thomson's 20-yard touchdown strike to Ethan Johnson with four minutes left in the fourth quarter — before Morris and John finished the rally.
It's a win!@DhillsAthletics
— DHillsBasketball (@DHillsBasketba1) August 20, 2022
Here are 10 more standout performers that caught our eye during the second week of the 2022 Utah high school football season.
Matthew Griffiths, LB, Taylorsville
The senior linebacker took an interception 28 yards for a touchdown with 2:29 remaining to help the Warriors hold on for a 27-20 win over Jordan. Leland Ako added a pair of touchdown runs for Taylorsville, which won back-to-back games for the first time since 2019 and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2017.
Roger Saleapaga, TE, Orem
The 6-foot-5 junior hauled in three touchdown passes from Lance Reynolds, including the game-winning score from 24 yards out with 5:03 remaining as the Tigers remained unbeaten with a 21-14 win over Las Vegas' Desert Pines (Nev.).
"I did my part and (quarterback) Lance (Reynolds) did his part, the O-line did its part. You know, all those points are on the team," Saleapaga told KSL.com. "Thank you to the defense for getting multiple stops. Sadly, we couldn't convert on all of them, but we pulled it out at the end."
Nick Despain, QB, Morgan
The senior quarterback opened the scoring with a 2-yard TD plunge, then found Gavin Turner and Lincoln Gilson for three scores through the air as the Trojans tore through Mountain View 39-7.
Jack Johnson, QB, Brighton
The junior quarterback, who threw for 2,616 yards and 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a sophomore, helped the Bengals bounce back from an opening-week loss to Desert Hills by throwing three touchdown passes to three different receivers in Brighton's 24-17 win over Syracuse.
Dru Gardiner, QB, Roy
Stop us if you've heard this before: Roy's gunslinger of a quarterback leads to a Region 1 rivalry win.
Sophomore Dru Gardiner did just that, throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers in the Royals' 34-21 victory over Fremont.
LEHI WINS!!
— Lehi Football (@LehiFootball) August 20, 2022
@LehiHighSchoolAthletics @LehiHighSchool
@LehiGridironClub pic.twitter.com/r8ogeRDner
The entire Lehi defense
For the second consecutive week, the Pioneers didn't allow a point, shutting out Salem Hills 48-0. Colorado State commit Jackson Brousseau also threw five touchdown passes, including two to Makafefie Havea, to pace a Lehi offense that has also been pretty decent — outpacing its first two opponents 96-0.
Way-too-early 5A favorites for the defending champions, anyone?
The entire Viewmont offense
The Vikings set a school record with a 73-9 win over Hillcrest that included a 35-0 advantage after the first quarter.
"We played a great game together from the start to the finished tonight," Viewmont coach Dru Jones told the Deseret News. "It was very exciting to have our first home game in front of our community and school."
Jaxson Eastman and the Farmington defense
The senior defensive back picked up a fumble and rumbled 38 yards for a touchdown, and the Phoenix improved to 2-0 by holding Bountiful scoreless until the middle of the fourth quarter of a 24-3 rout.
"I want to give credit to our D coordinator. He puts us in the right spot, like he's always calling the right thing," Farmington senior Luke Nelson told KSL.com. "We're like a smaller team, but we're quick so we get to our spots and we execute it."
Johnny Bibiano, K, Dixie
Bibiano hit a 38-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and the 4A Flyers' defense made it stand up en route to a bounceback 17-13 win over 6A Riverton.
"Our kids worked hard this week," Dixie coach Blaine Monkres told the Deseret News. "It paid off with a hard fought win over a really good Riverton team. Great team effort on defense."
Kyron Bracken, Slot, Enterprise
The junior opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown run and didn't stop until the start of the fourth quarter, when Bracken's third rushing touchdown finished off South Sevier for a 21-14 win that kept the Wolves unbeaten.
Kilo Tsosie, QB, Milford
Tsosie threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as the Tigers scored the most points since 2020 — when Utah backup quarterback Bryson Barnes was marshaling the huddle — in a 53-26 win over Gunnison Valley.
