- Herriman upset defending 5A champion Bountiful with a 27-7 victory.
- Coach Matt Rickards praised the team's physicality and defensive performance.
- Troy Ellermeier's 80-yard interception return was a game highlight.
BOUNTIFUL — The high school football season is officially underway and already there is chaos.
The defending 5A champion, Bountiful, went 13-1 last season, while the Herriman went 3-8. The script was flipped Friday night in Bountiful, though, with Herriman winning a commanding 27-7 victory over the Redhawks.
Herriman head coach Matt Rickards said he was proud of his team's performance in the win.
"We, obviously, have a better group of guys as far as physicality and effort, and we have a lot of guys that have really bought in this year, and it shows" Rickards said. "We played some tough football and the defense played outstanding."
Defensive masterclass
The first score of the game slowed any momentum Bountiful hoped to have on the night. After throwing a pick on their first possession, Bountiful reached the Herriman red zone on their second drive, before Senior Troy Ellermeier intercepted a pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown.
"Troy Ellermeier is a stud, the kid is such a ballhawk," Rickards said. "You saw that tonight with him taking one back. You're going to see that kid make a lot of plays this year. I'm really proud of the defense, and I don't want to say I was worried or concerned, but I wanted to see how the defense played … and they did an outstanding job."
Siaki Fekitoa, the leading rusher for Bountiful coming into the season, had 1,921 yards and 21 touchdowns last season but was mostly kept in check until a late touchdown that put the Redhawks on the board.
"Bountiful is one of the top programs in the state, you say 6A or 5A, in my opinion there's not a whole lot of difference when talking about a team like Bountiful," Rickards said. "That's a good program and they have a championship type culture, so I'm proud of our guys."
In it to win it
The Mustangs showcased a completely different team than the one that lost to this same Bountiful team 27-9 in last seasons opener. This loss stuck with
Ellermeier, who said it made him "hungry" for the next year.
"We are a whole different team this year," Ellermeier said. "We are going to win a lot of ball games. After last year, we hit the weight room way harder and differently. We want to be a more physical team than we were before."
Up next for Herriman will be another test in a home opener against Desert Hills.
"Right now, we are going to enjoy this win," Rickards said. "I don't mean to be cliche, but it's true; we're just going to focus on Desert Hills next week. If we keep doing that then we've got a shot at the region title and getting deep into the playoffs. We want to be at Rice-Eccles Stadium; we've just got to focus on one play at a time."
