The West Panthers will face off against the Olympus Titans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. West will come in still looking for their first win of the season.
West is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: American Fork, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (West was ranked 16th). West came up short against American Fork on Friday, falling 41-15. The Panthers gained 125 more yards on the day, but it was the Cavemen that made the best use of them.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Kamden Lopati, who threw for 292 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.8 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 49 yards. Another receiver making a difference was Chachi Pan, who picked up 137 receiving yards and a touchdown.
West's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged four passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Jared Chase, Jaxon Toala, and Pan picked up one apiece. Pan also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making five total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception which he returned one-yard for a touchdown. Another thorn in American Fork's side was Masiu Aholelei, who made 13 total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended two passes.
Even though they lost, West was moving up and down the field and finished the game with 517 total yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as American Fork only gained 392.
Meanwhile, Olympus didn't have quite enough to beat Bountiful on Thursday and fell 25-22.
Defeat or not, Olympus got some senior leadership from Max Rice and Tommy Nelson. Rice threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns, while Nelson. picked up 140 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
West's loss dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Olympus, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 1-2.
West barely slipped by Olympus in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, winning 19-18. Will West repeat their success, or does Olympus have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
