Prep football: Red zone troubles Ogden in valiant effort at West Field
3A Tigers deliver a scare, but West Field escapes 6-0 in first-ever meeting
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- Ogden High’s Emmett Rector, center, takes a hit from West Field’s Logan McClure, right, during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- West Field quarterback Easton Eilertson, center middle, tumbles with the ball over Ogden tackler Anderson Curry, center bottom, during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Ogden High back Anderson Curry, right, carries the ball as West Field’s Chaz Barker closes in for a tackle during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- West Field quarterback Easton Eilertson (6) pulls back to throw while lineman Tucker Keele, center, blocks Ogden lineman Christian Zarate (58) during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Ogden High’s Ryker Rice, center, carries the football against West Field linemen Lincoln Cleverly (50) and Braxton Pratt during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Ogden High’s Blake Weston (6) scrambles past West Field’s Logan Hadley (24) during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- West Field defenders Case Martini, left, and Logan Hadley celebrate intercepting an Ogden pass during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- West Field High football captains Logan McClure (44), Caden Judy (0), Owen Hadley (7) and Easton Eilertson (6) take the field before a home game against Ogden on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Ogden High’s Blake Weston, left, takes a hit from a West Field defender during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- A West Field football player rests his helmet on the turf during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- West Field receiver Phoenix Sandoval runs with the football against Ogden during a football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Taylor. (BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Editor’s note: Official stats weren’t available at the conclusion of this contest. This story will be updated when individual and team stats become available.
TAYLOR – Have you seen the rain? The West Field football team sure has.
Through unforgiving rain and missed chances, the Longhorns finally put the ball in the hands of senior running back Elijah Woods for a 25-yard touchdown run on Friday to hold off 3A challenger Ogden High 6-0 for their first win of the season.
A brief thunderstorm delayed the opening kickoff, and while the lightning carried on, the precipitation made itself known as the ball slipped out of both offenses multiple times in a Week 3 contest that boiled down to a single scoring drive. Woods, battling Ogden’s defense all night, caught the long-awaited break with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter.
“I had a lot of good blocks,” Woods said. “We had a couple of people step up, and our defense did amazing. We should fix those opportunities we missed, and we’ll be back.”
The first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron had a few plot holes.
The Longhorns (1-2) missed out on three turnovers, but that figure paled in comparison to five total turnovers by the Tigers (1-2) over the course of the night. West Field intercepted Ogden junior Emmett Rector three times, including the fateful Kolt Abbott pick in the fourth quarter to set up Woods’ touchdown sequence.
Besting another 5A neighbor, Bonneville, last week at home in another low-scoring affair, Ogden seemingly had West Field’s number to begin a scoreless second half; Ogden senior linebacker Aaron Boehm picked off West Field junior Easton Eilertson on the second drive of the third quarter, setting up a second failed red zone attempt by Rector and the Tigers.
“That’s been an emphasis, and it’s going to keep being an emphasis. Any time we’re in the red zone it’s got to be blood in the water,” Ogden coach Terry Larson said.
The little mistakes added up, and early cost both sides the contest in the end.
Miscues, Miscues, Miscues
Between the rain and the penalty marker, Ogden and West Field never caught a major break during a scoreless first half.
The biggest change in pace came in the second quarter, when the Tigers, fresh off a stop by linebacker Kos Crowther and defensive end Ryan Kirkland, switched up quarterback play from Rector to senior Blake Weston, guiding Ogden to a pair of first downs. Rector returned under center and connected with Weston right away to land in the red zone.
As another storm system moved through, a wet ball escaped Crowther’s grasp on a handoff straight into the Longhorn defense, which dislodged the football long enough for 205-pound senior Lincoln Cleverly to secure Ogden’s third turnover of the first half.
Physicality was the pregame message going up against their 5A foe, Larson said.
“I told boys before (the game), we’ve gotta put 11 guys out on the field,” Larson said. “Their high school kids, too, and I’m so proud of the way they played tonight. We’re going to keep getting better going forward.
“…We had a good plan on defense. We just play hard, and that’s Ogden football right there. We play hard all the time, doesn’t matter.”
Woods left the game with some new respect for their opponent to the east.
“They played really good football,” Woods said of Ogden. “I love the way that they fought. They put up a great fight. Our offense struggled against their defense, credit to their defense.”
Offensively, West Field hardly produced much else in the first half, punting five times and squandering a Logan Hadley interception by turning the ball right back over on downs.
Beginning the second half with an interception and turning the ball over on downs atop the fourth quarter, Woods is confident West Field can begin seizing those drives next week.
“Opportunities were left on the floor,” Woods said. “We had a couple of people step up, and our defense did amazing. We should fix those opportunities we missed, and we’ll be back.”
Up next
Shut out for the first time this season, Rector and the Tigers get another opportunity at a nearby 5A foe, Clearfield, next week in Davis County. Ogden won that contest a year ago 24-7 en route to a 4-1 start; This year, they’ll enter the game with a losing record.
West Field, meanwhile, is eager to correct offensive woes of its own, as Eilertson and a dynamic receiver corps continue searching for a rhythm that’ll put their team in a position to salvage an 0-2 start and an all-too-close brush with the Tigers on Friday night.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
