The Hive Sports

by AJ Conlin

With week one of the football season in the books, it is time to review the non-region slate so far for Region 8.

Mountain View (1-2)

Mountain View is having what feels like another typical start to their season. They have a couple of brutal losses paired with a modest win over Cottonwood.

Offensively, they’ve completed 30 of their 71 passes for 417 yards and one interception, pretty impressive, except it only garnered two touchdowns. They’ve had more success on the ground, running the ball 69 for 355 yards and five touchdowns.

Defensively, they appear to be improving. Over three games they have 162 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and two interceptions, both of which came courtesy of Cottonwood.

Cottonwood is now 0-3, and has scored 15 total points, all of which came from this game, so take that win with a grain of salt. The Bruins return to the field against Payson on Friday, September 1, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Payson (1-2)

The Lions are having a rocky start to the season so far, especially after they stood out last year. Their first three games have yielded different results, making it tough to make an accurate estimation of what their season will look like this year.

They seem to be having an issue that they’ve had historically, which is racking up hundreds of yards, but unable to find the end zone often enough. They have completed 70 of 120 passes for 825 yards and nine touchdowns, seven of which came from their 57-19 win over Hillcrest. They have also thrown four interceptions. They’ve also taken the ball 365 yards on 68 carries and five touchdowns.

After the 37-21 loss to Richfield, quarterback Kade Edwards had an idea on what went wrong.

“We lost,” Edwards said. “We didn’t play very well at all. We had a couple passes tipped up for interceptions, so nothing really went our way.”

Defensively, they’ve racked up 151 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss, two sacks, and five interceptions. They haven’t really had too much of a problem stopping anybody, but the mistakes from the offense can really wear a defense down.

The Lions are having a turbulent start to the season, and they now have to go up against a tough region schedule. If they can figure out a way to get their receivers to haul in their catches, rather than letting them tip, they could be back in the running for the region championship. They may also consider integrating more of the run game into their offense. Whatever they decide to do, they’ll certainly be showcasing it when they return against Mountain View on Friday at 7 p.m. MT.

Provo

The Provo Bulldogs are looking strong this season. They started with a statement win over Grantsville, holding them scoreless. Their next win was a close win over Olympus, who has a historically good football program. Their loss to Timpview wasn’t a bad one, especially considering how close it was and the fact that Timpview was the 5A State Champion runner-up last season.

Offensively, they’ve thrown 84 passes and snagged 48 of them. They have 666 yards for four touchdowns and two interceptions. On the ground, they’ve carried the ball 112 times for 408 yards and seven touchdowns. They’ve lost only one fumble.

On the other side, the Bulldogs have an unreal 209 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, but only one sack. They’ve also grabbed one interception, punched out four fumbles, and blocked a field goal.

Provo looks like they’re playing more old-school football, with the pass game supplementing the run game. So far, they look like a tough rolling force that may cause some big noise this season. The only type of team that may be able to stop them is a team with a big defensive line and nasty edge rushers. Provo will show us who they are in region play against Salem Hills on Friday night at home.

Salem Hills

Loss to Sky View (44-20), win over Cottonwood (50-0) and Maple Mountain (24-17)

The Salem Hills Skyhawks had a pretty good preaseason. The loss to Sky View is disappointing, but they are a historical 4A powerhouse up in Cache Valley and are looking good again this season. The win over Cottonwood was a good one, holding them scoreless and building confidence after the loss. Beating Maple Mountain was definitely a good win for the Skyhawks. Maple Mountain is a good team and also took out rival Payson, who they are looking forward to playing later this season. The stats are looking good, too. However, they haven’t uploaded any against Maple Mountain, so they will be omitted.

Offensively, they have thrown 55 passes and connected in 29 of them for 355 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions. On the ground, they’ve sent the ball through the line 34 times and picked up 383 yards, four touchdowns, and one fumble.

Defensively, they have 98 total tackles, two tackles for loss, three sacks, and a blocked field goal. Salem Hills has been impressive in the turnover game, hauling in an unreal eight interceptions supplemented by a fumble recovery.

The Skyhawks are looking pretty good this season. They could take a hit this season if their defense stops coming up with such big plays and creating turnovers. It looks like heading into their first region game, they need to focus on the offense and figure out how to get them in the endzone more often. We’ll see what they’ve done during the week when they return against Provo on Friday at 7 p.m.

Spanish Fork

Overall, the Spanish Fork Dons didn’t have the worst preseason this season. Olympus is a really good team, so the 28-7 loss to them was inevitable. The 27-24 loss to Maple Mountain is definitely a game they could have won. They just didn’t execute when it mattered most in that game. The 44-38 Orem win is a good one, especially with their winning tradition.

The Spanish Fork Dons could make a bounce back against teams in the region. Their next game is a brutal road game out to Vernal to play Uintah today at 7 p.m. MT.

Timpanogos

The Timpanogos Timberwolves had an impressive 62-30 win over Jordan. That game showed the power they have over teams that aren’t known to be great. The 35-33 loss to Park City was disappointing because the Timberwolves almost had them. That game was the most anticipated game on their schedule due to Park City knocking them out of the playoffs last season. Their 41-14 win over Logan was a statement, showing that they are still a great team and looking to make a big impact this season.

Offensively, they completed 55 of their 98 passes for 686 yards and five touchdowns. They threw three interceptions, all to Park City. On the ground, they’ve carried the ball 101 times for 645 yards and eight touchdowns.

Defensively, Timpanogos has insanely racked up 219 total tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. They’ve caught two interceptions, jumped on two fumble recoveries, rushed for two blocked punts, and a blocked field goal.

Timpanogos is going to be a big region competitor this season and is going to be exciting to watch. Their balanced offensive scheme is exciting to watch due to the sheer amount of yardage they are able to gain. Their preseason actually extends for a week after all the other teams, due to the odd number of teams in the region. They’ll return to play against the Tooele Buffaloes on Friday at 7 PM.

Uintah

Loss to Duchesne (20-18), Win over Tooele (42-35), Overtime Loss to Union (46-44)

The Uintah Utes are not having a good start to their season. Their loss to Duchesne was just embarrassing. Duchesne is a 1A high school. The win over Tooele is nothing special after what we’ve seen from Tooele the past year with the new coaching staff. The loss to Union is also embarrassing. Union is 3A, and not even a good 3A team. Defensive stats, and the stats against Duchesne haven’t been posted, but the other stats are according to MaxPreps.

Offensively, they’ve completed 30 of their 39 passes for 560 yards and six touchdowns. They’ve run the ball on the ground 59 times for 335 yards, six more touchdowns, and a fumble.

Uintah is not a great football team. Losing to teams like that and winning over Tooele by just seven is truly a red flag for any team. Their chances to prove everyone wrong begin when they play Spanish Fork at home on Friday at 7 p.m.

Featured image credit: Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald