- American Fork defeated West 18-12 in a defensive battle Friday night.
- Senior Prince Afu's decisive 20-yard touchdown secured the victory for American Fork.
- West suffered its first loss despite two touchdowns from quarterback Kamden Lopati.
SALT LAKE CITY — It was an early-season heavyweight matchup between Salt Lake and Utah counties Friday night at West High.
American Fork traveled north and got the 18-12 win between two undefeated teams to start the year 3-0, thanks to a decisive 20-yard rushing touchdown from senior Prince Afu in the fourth quarter.
The 5-foot-11 protege of former BYU running back Lopini Katoa — now the running backs coach at American Fork — broke off several big runs against the Panthers and consistently "fell forward," as head coach Aaron Behm put it, to gain an extra yard or two for the visiting Cavemen.
"He's fighting for extra yards, and at the same time taking care of the football," Behm said of Afu. "Picking up three to four (yards) pretty consistently is a big deal to stay ahead of the chains."
It was certainly a game of "three to four" yards on Friday, as both teams struggled to string together chunk plays and lived in the trenches for much of the night.
The game had its fair share of mistakes from both teams, including fumbles, interceptions, a blocked punt and failed 2-point conversions, but Behm said it's those mistakes that have his team facing what could be a special season in a crowded and competitive 6A Region 3.
"We have some kids who are just working really, really hard, and I think they want to be really, really good," Behm said. "They're not perfect. We all make mistakes, and they will admit that, but they also want to be great, and they know that that's how you get better is by making those mistakes."
For West, what started as a potentially historic season following the school's first-ever win over Timpview to start the year, now has its first loss just three games in. Luckily for the Panthers, the teams remaining on their schedule are not as tough as American Fork, and the Region 4 title is still theirs to lose.
Jaxon Toala and Mani Tu'uao had the two touchdowns for West in the loss, both coming on passes from junior quarterback Kamden Lopati.
"It was tough; West is a good team," Afu said. "When we got tired, we just got back to the basics. The team goal is a state championship, and that's something we're instilling every day. It's gonna be a long road, but it's just improving every day, getting back in the lab on Monday, back to work at practice, and just getting back to it."
American Fork continues its non-region slate with road trips to Farmington and Layton over the next two weeks, while West welcomes Hunter and Kearns to begin Region 4 play as the homestand at Gean Plaga Stadium continues.
