Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- American Fork's football team utilized both of its quarterbacks to secure a 30-8 win against Pleasant Grove, ending a three-game losing streak.
- Senior David Gaisford Jr. threw three touchdowns, while junior Kapano Manuela complemented with key plays, including guiding a crucial third-quarter touchdown drive.
- The team aims to maintain this momentum as they approach the regular season's conclusion.
PLEASANT GROVE — Sometimes, two arms are better than one.
American Fork thought so on Friday night, playing both its quarterbacks to pull itself out of a three-game losing streak.
Senior David Gaisford Jr. started the game, tossing three touchdowns, while junior Kapano Manuela stepped in intermittently throughout, guiding a third quarter touchdown drive.
The result was a 30-8 road win over Region 3 foe Pleasant Grove — a get-right performance that gives the Cavemen (3-5) some momentum entering the final two weeks of the regular season.
"I thought David played well, and I think (Manuela) managed the game pretty well when he was in, too," American Fork coach Aaron Behm said. "So I think we'll just keep evaluating those guys, but it's good to have two guys who are competing and that we trust to have out there."
Turnover issues by Gaisford prompted American Fork to put in Kapona during last week's game against Lone Peak, and the backup provided the team a spark, throwing for two touchdowns in the loss.
Credit to Gaisford, though, he seemed unfazed by the supposed quarterback controversy when he took the field at Pleasant Grove, marching the Cavemen downfield in its opening drive to find freshman Cash Taiese for a 13-yard touchdown.
Gaisford's most impressive drive came in the second quarter, when he used a pair of completions over 20 yards to set up another touchdown pass to Taiese — this time for 13 yards — to give the Cavemen a 13-2 lead. He topped off his performance with a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver David Dean in the fourth quarter.
Manuela, meanwhile, played two drives in the first half, moving the ball smoothly downfield on his second go before a receiver fumbled. He found his groove after halftime, completing 5-of-6 attempts on one drive, including an 11-yard pass to Dean to set up a 2-yard touchdown run from junior running back Luke Broadebent.
"I think we're consistent with both quarterbacks, and we just kind of get the job done. … I think we were communicating well tonight compared to other previous nights, and we just were putting everything we worked on in practice into tonight," Dean said.
But neither quarterback had a flawless game, and a Herculean effort from one Pleasant Grove player was mostly to blame, as Vikings junior defensive lineman Maddox Webb forced three turnovers in the first half.
On the game's second drive, Webb caught a deflected ball to intercept Gaisford and returned it into American Fork territory. Also in the half, he sacked Manuela in the end zone for a safety, recovered a fumble and blocked a PAT.
Pleasant Grove needed the big defensive plays to stay in the game, because with an injury-riddled quarterback room, senior Nathan Schroeder, who is listed as a tight end, was the starting quarterback for the second time this season.
Schroeder finished 17-of-35 passing for 132 yards and a second-half touchdown pass. Running back Wade Christiansen also shouldered much of the load, going for 81 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Slowing down Christiansen was key for American Fork, fueling the near-shutout from the Cavemen defense that helped the game turn lopsided.
"(Christiansen) is a very good athlete, and I thought once we started setting the edge, and we were able to stop his momentum, then we could rally, and we were in much better shape. We got better at that as the game went on," Behm said.
