After three games on the road, Hillcrest is heading back home. They will welcome the Murray Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Last Friday, Hillcrest lost to Tooele on the road by a 41-24 margin. The loss continues a trend for the Huskies in their matchups with the Buffaloes: they've now lost four in a row.
Despite their defeat, Hillcrest saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Silas Ahching, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries, was perhaps the best of all. Ahching got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 62 yards. Grady Court was another key pass catcher, picking up 63 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Even though they lost, Hillcrest was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Murray didn't have too much trouble with Payson at home on Friday as they won 32-13. The Spartans pushed the score to 26-6 by the end of the third, a deficit the Lions cut but never quite recovered from.
Sam Pehrson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Murray also got help from Spencer Bushman, who showed off his sure hands for 90 receiving yards.
Murray's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Easton Horman.
Most of the squad's points came courtesy of special teams, who contributed 20 in total. All came courtesy of Dillon Curtis: he went 6-for-6 kicking field goals for 18 points, and 2-for-2 kicking extra points for an additional two.
Hillcrest's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Murray, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Hillcrest came up short against Murray in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 31-20. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Murray's Alexander Bojorquez, who threw for 230 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown. Now that Hillcrest knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
