Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
WEST JORDAN — West Jordan forced Orem into a rare fourth down. The Tigers, though, opted not to punt, and scored a touchdown with one pass.
As the play unfolded, a player on the Jaguars sideline said, "You've gotta be kidding me." His comment highlighted a fact proven over and over again Friday night: Orem is no joke.
The Tigers stayed undefeated on the 2024 season by beating West Jordan 56-17.
"We know we should win every game," Orem (4-0) quarterback Tayden-Evan Kaawa said. "I think as long as we keep our heads down, we should see what we can do."
Kaawa had four touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. The junior, who said he just moved to Utah two months ago, has acclimated to the state and Orem's team well so far.
"I was really happy that he decided to come," Tigers coach Lance Reynolds said, adding that he first met his QB a couple of years ago as Kaawa's family was deciding on schools. "Tayden is a great player. We're happy he's here."
Orem jumped on West Jordan (1-3) early. After forcing a punt, Feleti Iongi returned the ball to the 16-yard line. Two plays later, Kaawa's 18-yard pass to Kaue Akana was the first, and definitely not the last, touchdown for Orem.
Not long after, Beckham Curtis ran for a 13-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead. Three big passes by Kaawa set up the 2-yard rushing touchdown by Oliver Bills, who replaced Kaawa at quarterback to start the fourth quarter.
Orem's first three touchdowns all happened in the first quarter.
West Jordan finally answered to the start the second quarter when quarterback Tyson Demke threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior Nia Ioapo. But the Tigers answered with Kaawa's 28-yard touchdown pass to Akana for a 28-7 lead.
Just before halftime, Demke's 34-yard pass to senior Julius Mulitalo set up a 22-yard field goal for junior Aaron Hunt.
There were moments the Jaguars played tough defense, but it was never enough. They sacked Kaawa toward the end of the first half and recovered the ensuing fumble. And then early in the fourth quarter, Anthony Fale intercepted a pass and returned it nearly 80 yards for a touchdown.
And the Tigers weren't perfect either.
"There was a little stretch where we let them get pressure on us over and over and over, and it kind of frustrated me," Reynolds said. "But … that momentum starts to build and then our team fought back out and started to seal it back up, and it looked much better."
After a West Jordan field goal, Orem scored three unanswered touchdowns. The first came on the fourth down that frustrated the West Jordan player — Kaawa threw a 44-yard pass to Kai Wesley on the play.
On Orem's next drive, Kaawa threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Iongi. And the drive after that, Kaawa effectively ended his evening with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Bills got into the mix late with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Beck Coy, finalizing the score.
Reynolds said that in games the last two weeks, the Tigers haven't played well in the first half. But on Friday, that wasn't the case. He called it "a bright night" for Orem.
