- Lone Peak defeated Crimson Cliffs 49-14 in the 2025 high school football opener.
- Backup QB Cruz Christensen threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns to the Pula twins.
- Defense and special teams, including a blocked punt, helped secure the Knights' victory.
HIGHLAND — If Lone Peak backup quarterback Cruz Christensen didn't know it before Friday, he does now: When in doubt, find one of the Pula twins.
The junior quarterback made his first career start and threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns to twin transfers Kennan and Jaron Pula as the second-ranked Knights stormed to a 49-14 win over defending 4A champion Crimson Cliffs to kick off the 2025 high school football season.
Jaron Pula caught five passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns for Lone Peak (1-0). Fellow Timpview transfer and Utah commit Kennan Pula added 77 receiving yards with a 61-yard touchdown for the Knights, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Toatele Afu's fumble recovery in the end zone with 3:06 left in the first quarter.
"Our whole offense did a really great job. Huge shout out to Cruz; he stepped up on the play and did his job — and got me two touchdowns," Jaron Pula said. "We put in a lot of work in the offseason, and he did a great job."
But the Mustangs (0-1) found their way, aided by Lone Peak penalties that included a targeting call to prolong a drive that ended when Matai Andresen hit Jaxson Holt with his second touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the half.
Still, Lone Peak responded — again through the Pula twins.
Christensen led a perfect two-minute drill in 27 seconds to end the half, capped by a 35-yard bomb to Jaron Pula to give the Knights a 28-14 lead.
"That certainly gave us momentum back. We work a lot on the two-minute drill," Lone Peak coach Bart Brockbank said. "We've got some guys who can go get the ball, and that helps. But 26 seconds or so to score, that was pretty incredible."
Defense and special teams helped Lone Peak pull away for good in the second half with help from a defensive line anchored by two-way lineman and BYU offensive tackle commit Bott Mulitalo, a late interception by Joe Brown, and a blocked punt on Crimson Cliffs' opening drive of the half to set up Tate Barney's 8-yard touchdown run.
The Knights also forced three turnovers on downs, including one that Jaron Pula turned into his second touchdown on a 5-yard toss from Christensen with 9:41 to go in the fourth quarter.
"It's hard to guard those guys one-on-one," Brockbank said of the Pulas. "And if you double those guys, we've got other dudes. They're great."
Arona Ka'ili added a touchdown on a 1-yard run to cap the scoring, finishing off a 27-yard strike to the 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.
Andresen threw for 181 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and Holt caught 11 passes for 141 yards and two scores for Crimson Cliffs, which hosts Provo next Friday, Aug. 22 in its home opener.
Lone Peak hosts Orem next Friday before traveling to play Timpview in Week 3 and Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman a week later.
