Primetime Performers: Pleasant Grove shuts out Orem to double last year's win total

OREM — The past two years have not been kind to Pleasant Grove football.

The Vikings won just one game in all of 2021, a teeth-chattering 34-33 win over Maple Mountain that preceded an 0-5 record in Region 4 play by a combined score of 218-50.

Yeah, playing in Region 4 — sometimes called the SEC of Utah high school football — can be rough for teams at the bottom.

But things just might be turning around — at least for a moment — in PG. The Vikings, after all, are on a winning streak.

A week after a 42-10 road win over Green Canyon, Pleasant Grove went to Orem and shut out the Tigers 47-0 to improve to 2-1 on the young season. Their only loss? A respectable 19-14 defeat to 6A challenger Farmington.

But perhaps the best part for Pleasant Grove coach Taylor Walkenhorst, who improved to 3-11 in his career at the school? It didn't come from just one player, or even two.

Four different Vikings found the end zone Friday night, led by running back Jaeden Wright, who ran for 33 yards and two touchdowns. Kove Warner and Shawn Cottle also ran for a touchdown, and quarterback Nic Staffieri completed 22-of-30 passes for 379 yards and a 20-yard touchdown to Kale McCoy.

Aside from the slump-busting Vikings, here are 10 other performances that caught out attention during Week 3 of the 2022 Utah high school football season.

Bracken Lassche, QB, South Summit

Lassche threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the first quarter as the Wildcats jumped out to a 27-7 lead and rolled to a 48-13 win over Marsh Valley (Idaho). The 6-foot junior opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown to Caleby Thompson on the first play from scrimmage, and finished with six passing touchdowns as South Summit improved to 3-0 on the season.

Thompson hauled in three touchdowns, and Juan Ramirez added two scores for the Wildcats.

"Our team played a great game today," South Summit coach Mike Ruf told the Deseret News. "We had a lot of guys contribute big for our team, and we showed great discipline. I'm really proud of our boys traveling out of state and executing our game the way they did. They are really starting to come together."

Tyler Wensel, QB, Layton

Wensel did most of his damage with his legs, running for three touchdowns and throwing for another, as the Lancers improved to 3-0 with a 41-28 win over Lewiston (Idaho).

Bryson Sorensen, RB, Gunnison Valley

Sorensen scored his fifth touchdown on a 22-yard breakaway run in overtime as the Bulldogs outlasted host Rich 33-27 of an eight-man football game.

Honorable mention goes to Trey Walker, who had three touchdowns as the Rebels built up a 13-0 halftime lead and led by as much as 27-21 on Hunter Pace's fourth-quarter touchdown before the Bulldogs rallied to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Walker Deede, TE, Springville

No, this isn't a repeat of last year's 5A state semifinals, but you're forgiven for thinking as much.

Less than a year after grabbing the game-winning pass on the final play of the game to stun defending champion Orem, Deede did it again, this time hauling in a 24-yard touchdown from BYU commit Ryder Burton with 19 seconds left to beat Bountiful 18-17.

Burton had three touchdown passes for the Red Devils (3-0).

Ashton Macfarlane/Noah Kekauoha, DB, Ridgeline

Macfarlane and Kekauoha each had an interception to pace a Ridgeline team that held Snow Canyon to just 241 yards of total offense in a 24-0 shutout victory for the defending 4A champions' first win of the season.

Will Rippstein ran for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Riverhawks (1-20).

Koden Lunt, QB, Cedar

The junior signal caller threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers as the Reds jumped out to a 28-0 lead before holding on for a 28-21 win over Canyon View in the non-region rivalry game for both teams.

Hat tip to Canyon View quarterback Dawson Wood, who also had three touchdown passes.

Isaac Wilson, QB, Corner Canyon

The four-star junior with offers from BYU, Miami and Oregon, among others, threw three touchdown passes to help the short-handed Chargers outlast host Bingham in Corner Canyon's third of four-straight road games to open the season.

Bo Hardy, RB, Milford

Hardy ran for three touchdowns, and quarterback Kilo Tsosie threw for three more as the Tigers improved to 3-0 with a 47-14 home win over North Sevier.

"After a slow start, the team finally got going," Milford coach Thane Marshall said. "Tessler Fields had a great game on defense and Bo Hardy ran the ball very well the second half. Our depth was the difference tonight."

Luke Jacobs, QB, Viewmont

Jacobs ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns, threw for another 251 yards and another score with an interception, and Kaden Mitchell intercepted a pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter for what turned out to be the difference in Viewmont's 38-27 win over Copper Hills.

Jacobs' 75-yard touchdown run with 3:38 left in the second quarter gave the Vikings (3-0) a 28-7 halftime lead. But the Grizzlies came back, outscoring the hosts 20-10 the rest of the way before falling short.

"We played a great game against a physical team had some up and downs, but got the win," Viewmont coach Dru Jones told the Deseret News. "This is a players' win and my staff's win. They worked so hard this week. I want to make sure the players and my staff get all the credit."

AJ Tillman, RB, Northridge

The senior two-way standout ran for four touchdowns as the Knights dropped a half-dollar on Murray 50-0 for their first win over the year.

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