Football Preview: Manti Templars vs. Richfield Wildcats
The Manti Templars will head out to face off against the Richfield Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Manti sitting on four straight wins and Richfield on 20 (dating back to last season).
Last Friday, Manti was fully in charge, breezing past Canyon View 34-7 on the road. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 34-0.
Manti's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tala Taulapapa, who rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries. The dominant performance gave Taulapapa a new career-high in rushing yards. Carter Mason was in the mix as well, providing Manti with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Manti was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 204 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Manti's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. Ty Pringle led the group effort, picking up two of those interceptions all by himself. Mac Olsen was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making eight total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Richfield took their match on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 46-14 victory over Carbon. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by 29 points or more this season.
Richfield found their leader in underclassman Cord White, who rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 42 yards and a touchdown. Trey Yardley was another key player, picking up 96 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Manti pushed their record up to 6-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. As for Richfield, their record is now 7-0.
Manti came up short against Richfield when the teams last played back in November of 2023, falling 27-21. Thankfully for Manti, Reggie Hafen (who threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
