Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Maple Mountain Golden Eagles secured a significant 41-14 victory over rival Springville Red Devils, marking their third win against Springville in 12 years and bolstering their chances for a region title.
- Coach Kalin Hall praised the teams effort, emphasizing their determination to become prominent players in their conference.
- Backup quarterback Sawyer Leifson, stepping in for injured Mason Jensen, scored a key touchdown, showcasing resilience and teamwork.
SPANISH FORK — Since the school opened in 2009, Maple Mountain has only beat its rival, Springville, four times — including two wins in the same season.
The Golden Eagles were destined to take down its rival and continue their quest for a region title after a dominating 41-14 win over the Red Devils Friday.
"We are just a loaded team from Maple Mountain trying to fit in and compete with the big guys in the conference," head coach Kalin Hall said after the victory. "One play at a time."
The Golden Eagles are now 3-1 in region play with wins over Wasatch, Cedar Valley, and now Springville.
Maple Mountain opened the scoring in the first quarter after Eli Mauga's 32-yard run set the team up for success on the 2-yard line, where he then punched it in to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jack Pickering took the ball 99 yards for a kick-six score to tie the game right back up.
Late in the first quarter, quarterback Mason Jensen connected with Jaxton Peterson for a 42-yard touchdown pass to give Maple Mountain a 21-7 lead, similar to what the team had last week against Orem before falling short.
But like before, Pickering scored again quickly, and Springville was within two scores and a chance to get the ball back before the half.
Mauga picked off Springville and returned it to the 30-yard line with just over a minute left in the half, but a personal foul was called on Maple Mountain for hitting a defenseless receiver.
Maple Mountain's argument was that the ball was tipped and was picked, and then the player was hit, so the turnover should have stood. But the interception was reversed and Springville kept the ball.
Springville ended up with a chance to get the score within one possession before the break. But the Eagles defense held strong and went into the hafltime with a 24-14 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Jensen was hit hard and was immediately met by medical personnel, which meant the Eagles had to turn to backup quarterback Sawyer Leifson in the red zone.
Leifson, who had been the Eagles' starter for the last two years before being replaced by Jensen, took a read option to the house and scored a decisive touchdown to send the crowd roaring in support of the backup quarterback for his second score of the night.
Backup QB Leifson comes in and takes it in for MM pic.twitter.com/SJhRc3mC4u
— Nathan Dunn (@NateDunnKSL) October 5, 2024
"It felt absolutely amazing," Leifson said. "This community deserves the win, and it is always such a good feeling to beat your rival."
His coach added that "that is what seniors do."
"That is what young men who have character, class, and high football IQ class do," Hall said. "That is what team players do."
Jensen was eventually taken out of the game in the fourth quarter, but is was only as a precaution, Hall said.
The Eagles capped off the victory with a 55-yard field goal by Fernando Banuelos that prompted the loudest cheer of the night from the fans.
"We are just trying to be the best program we can be. We have 125 kids that work really hard all the time," Hall said. "We want to be the Corner Canyon of South County, period. We want real football players to be here because that's where we are going to be headed."
The Eagles are off to a blistering 7-1 start and can control their destiny through Region 7 as they take on 4-2 Timpview next week.
Springville will head to Orem to take on the Tigers. If both Springville and Maple Mountain win, Maple Mountain would be in a position to clinch at least a share of the region title.
A Timpview win over Orem the following week would win the region outright for Maple Mountain, as Orem would have two losses and the Golden Eagles would own the head-to-head over Timpview.
If Maple Mountain beats Timpview, Orem beats Springville, and Timpview beats Orem, it would be a three-way tie for first place.
If that happens, a coin toss would determine seeding for the state playoffs.
"If we go out and kick some booty next week, we are going to be region champs," Hall told his team after the game.
Hall's manifestations against Timpview will kickoff — due to fall break — on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. MDT at The Hill.
