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OREM — Football fans occasionally argue that a safety — when the driving team is tackled in its own end zone — should be worth more than the 2 points it currently carries.
An argument could be made that for the Orem Tigers on Friday, a third-quarter safety was worth 23 unanswered points and a 30-28 win over region rival and previously undefeated Maple Mountain.
The safety came immediately after the Tigers turned the ball over on an end zone interception that cut short their first drive of the second half. Orem trailed Maple Mountain 21-7, but an errant snap by the Golden Eagles resulted in a rare safety to kickstart the Tigers' comeback.
Tayden Ka'awa delivered three touchdown passes in the final 5:49 of the third quarter, including two to Kaue Akana, to complete a hat trick of touchdown catches for the star wide receiver/punter/safety.
Wild turn of events here in Orem as the Tigers followed up an end zone interception by undefeated Maple Mountain with a safety, a touchdown, an interception and then another touchdown in 2:18 of game time to come back from a 21-7 deficit and lead 23-21 late in the third quarter. pic.twitter.com/W7lE6Z6tAo
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) September 28, 2024
Derek Morehouse managed to bring in the only touchdown of the fourth quarter to get his second score of the night and bring the Golden Eagles within 2 points with 1:49 remaining. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Orem, however, and the Tigers ran out the clock to move both teams to 6-1 at the top of Region 7.
"We're definitely a second-half team, even though I would love to be a full-game team," Orem head coach Lance Reynolds said. "I can't really say what it was, other than our team has a lot of heart and they don't like losing."
The Tigers lost their only game of the season by a single point, 60-59, last week at Sky View. Friday's 2-point loss is the first of the season for Maple Mountain after starting 6-0 with a roster that Reynolds called "the most stout Maple Mountain team (he's) ever seen."
Orem heads to Cedar Valley next week, while Maple Mountain welcomes Springville (5-2) to Spanish Fork.
