Preview: Manti Templars vs. Richfield Wildcats
Manti has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Richfield Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. One thing working in Manti's favor is that they have now posted big point totals in their last four contests.
With a playoff game on the line, Manti rose to the challenge on Saturday. They strolled past Morgan with points to spare, taking the game 35-21.
Maison Starkweather continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns, while also punching in a rushing score. Starkweather hasn't dropped below three passing touchdowns for four straight games. Stone Mortensen was another key contributor, picking up 61 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Manti's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB six times. The heavy lifting was done by Mac Olsen and Lincoln Alder who racked up five sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Richfield put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They came out on top against Canyon View by a score of 35-24. 35 seems to be a good number for Richfield as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
It was another big night for Reggie Hafen, who threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.8 yards per attempt. Slate Reitz made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Their wins bumped Manti to 10-2 and Richfield to 12-0.
Keep an eye on the end zone in Saturday's game as both teams haven't had much trouble getting there this season. Manti commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 5.5 touchdowns per game. However, it's not like Richfield struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5 per game. With these two high-octane teams facing off on Saturday, fans should be in for an exciting offensive matchup. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
Manti might still be hurting after the 28-7 defeat they got from Richfield in their previous meeting back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Richfield's Hafen, who rushed for 40 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns while completing 79.2% of his passes. Now that Manti knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
