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Deseret News
High school football: Big 1st half sees Spanish Fork hand Uintah its first loss of the season with dominant performance
By Tommy Bailey,
7 hours ago
Spanish Fork players celebrate together after a win against Uintah at Spanish Fork High School in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Led by quarterback McKay Smith and Brock Jacobsen, Spanish Fork had no problem dismantling Uintah, grabbing the victory in a high-scoring blowout 56-26.
With the loss, Uintah is handed its first loss of the season and drops to 3-1, while Spanish Fork improves its record to 3-1.
Smith threw for three touchdowns on the night, while Jacobsen had three receiving touchdowns for the game.
“The key is that we have five or six really athletic, strong, tough kids that we can get the ball to and the best linemen in the state. When you have that, you’re going to have some success and it’s just a matter of me not screwing it up on the play calling,” said Spanish Fork head coach Dustin Smith.
Spanish Fork raced out to a quick 14-0 lead behind a 28-yard run by Kaden Vest for the first score of the game and then Jacobsen following that up just a few minutes later by finding himself on the receiving end of a 47-yard pass from Smith to double the lead.
Dace O’Bagy was one of the few bright spots for Uintah by rushing for three scores in the losing effort. He got his first score with 8:29 left in the first quarter with a short 2-yard run.
Jacobsen scored two more touchdowns late in the first half for the home side before Kaysten Urssey got into the end zone for Uintah on a 5-yard run. Spanish Fork went into the halftime break with a commanding 35-14 lead and well on its way to victory.
“The last two weeks we have put some really solid performances together both offensively and defensively. We’ve been putting up some big points and we have been really balanced as of late when it comes to rushing the ball,” Smith said.
“Defensively we’ve been forcing a lot of turnovers which has been huge for us. When you can turn people over, be balanced in your run and passing game, not have a lot of penalties you’re going to be in ballgames and have games like this occasionally where you’re not going to catch the other team on their best night and you get a big win.”
Spanish Fork continued its offensive dominance, scoring 21 points in the second half courtesy of Bronson Kalauli, Vest and Jacob Fawson.
The offense ran through O’Bagy for Uintah, with him accounting for both of Uintah’s scores in the second half.
While Smith knows his team his team is riding a hot start to their season, if they don’t continue to show improvement week in and week out, it will be very tough to get past some tough teams in a stacked 4A region.
“If we stay healthy and the boys get better every week which they have been, I think we will be a pretty good team. That’s going to be the key is health and them improving every week,” Smith said.
“That’s our job as a coaching staff to make sure they’re getting better every week. With where we’re at now, if we don’t continue to improve, we won’t go very far in the playoffs because there are too many good teams in 4A. If we can continue to improve, we’ll be alright.”
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