By Steve Pimper
MaxPreps.com
The spotlight fell on the 2A ranks this past week as the only clash of still-unbeaten squads took center stage as North Summit knocked helmets with the Templars in Manti.
The defending state 2A champion Bulldogs took the current second-longest winning streak of 17 and their current No. 1 ranking south in hopes of solidifying that top spot and staying atop the Northern Region standings.
Unfortunately for North Summit, Manti’s field General, Griffin Aste donned his Homecoming superhero cape and led the third-ranked Templars past the Bulldogs in the 29-21 showdown.
Griffin and Manti lost their star tailback, Russ Hugentobler, to a knee injury in the first quarter and fell behind 7-0 before Aste took complete charge of the game by throwing for a touchdown and running in another. The Templars scored 29 unanswered points to build a 29-7 lead after three quarters.
North Summit rallied with final period scores from Anders Skagerberg and Stevin Sommerville, but couldn’t catch Manti as it lost for the first time since the 2006 campaign.
Griffin finished the night with a nearly perfect outing, hitting on 11-of-13 passing attempts for 203 yards, including an 85-yard, back-breaking touchdown bomb to Nick Brown late in the third period to preserve the victory.
Manti’s win sets up another turf war of undefeated teams this coming Friday as it travels to Nephi to take on the second-ranked Juab Wasps in another premier contest. The Wasps stung the American Leadership Academy 45-7 this past weekend.
Elsewhere around the state, two more teams fell from the ranks of the unbeatens. St. George of Pine View edged 3A rival Hurricane 34-28 in a two-overtime thriller. Villiami Hofoka scored the game winner from five yards out in the second extra stanza.
West Jordan was the last team in 5A to sport a perfect record, but the resurgent Bingham Miners built a 31-0 halftime lead and destroyed the cross-town rival Jaguars 38-7 in the Region III opener for both squads.
The losses by North Summit, Hurricane and West Jordan leave only eight squads with still unblemished records. Joining Manti and Juab in the 2A classification with a perfect mark is San Juan. The Broncos booted Millard 33-14. In 3A, top-ranked Juan Diego romped past the Skyhawks of Salem Hills 42-7 and Delta whitewashed North Sanpete 48-0.
The final three undefeated squads are all 4A powerhouses led by the two-time defending state champion in that division, Timpview. The Thunderbirds tied the all-time state record for consecutive victories at 28 in a row by crushing Mountain View 42-14. Timpview will go for the outright mark of 29 this Friday when it travels to play the 3-3 Tooele Buffaloes.
Cottonwood also stayed unbeaten by throttling West 40-0. Northern Utah juggernaut Sky View moved its record to 6-0 by whipping Bonneville 34-24 in Region V.
Other games of note this past weekend include the continuing success of Layton, who beat neighboring Northridge 17-14 in overtime. Alta doubled up Skyline 45-21 in two of the top 5A battles of the week.
Two teams also posted their first wins of the season as Provo outlasted Payson 29-8 and Brighton got into the win column with a 41-0 pounding over the Warriors of Taylorsville.
Closing out the highlights of the week is the surprising upset pulled off by Weber, who ambushed Davis in a 9-7. Warrior placekicker, Keaton Scherer, accounted for all nine points via successful field goals from 17, 20 and 27 yards out.
