‘My fault’: No. 2 Fremont crunched by No. 7 Brighton 27-14 in 5A football quarters
QB troubles plague Silverwolves in 2nd half; Bengals advance
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- Fremont High’s Cole Walton, center, battles for yards against Brighton’s Grady Bell, left, and William Little (21) in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Manase Tuatagaloa looks downfield to pass in a 5A playoff quarterfinal against Brighton on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Brighton’s Judah Naweli (10) rushes the football while Fremont’s Slade Parker tries to bring him down in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Slade Parker (2) has a ball deflected away by Brighton’s Jayce Evans (11) in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Taylor Graham (14) rushes past Brighton’s Jaxon Nettleton (92) in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High students cheer during a 5A football playoff quarterfinal against Brighton on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Slade Parker, right, hauls in a pass against Brighton in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Salesi Moa (8) tries to keep balance with the football as Brighton’s Dax Matheson (2) reaches for a tackle in a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Taylor Graham (14) carries the football against the pursuit of Brighton players Trey Harper (23) and William Little during a 5A playoff quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — The last of Northern Utah’s prep football postseason hopefuls has fallen.
After a 1-4 start to the season, No. 7 Brighton, knocking off No. 2 Fremont 27-14 in the 5A state quarterfinals on Friday night, is bound for the semifinals next Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Despite taking a narrow 7-6 lead at the half, Fremont’s miscues snowballed through the remaining 24 minutes and the loss of senior starting quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa, replaced by Calvin Cooper late due to a hand injury, proved the perfect tsunami.
Brighton (7-5) surged ahead 20-7 with 40 seconds left in the third quarter on a 24-yard Judah Naweli touchdown run, followed by Fremont’s Taylor Graham fumbling, recovered and returned for six by Brighton’s Jaxon Nettleton on the very next drive.
Fremont, ending the season 9-3, couldn’t calm itself amid the storm.
“It was like the worst-case scenario we could possibly have,” Nate Tuatagaloa said about the injury to his quarterback and son. “I just got to keep my mind on the team and the community. I got to make the decision on that, whether he’s my son or not, I’ve got to put us in the best chance to win, and he’s the best chance — but unfortunately, he just couldn’t grip the ball.”
Cooper stepped under center atop the fourth quarter and his first pass found senior Slade Parker for a 70-yard touchdown reception, and with it a bit of new, short-lived life.
Brighton extended its lead 27-14 on the first of two Cooper interceptions, the first by Karl McKnight and the second by William Little, held together by a 22-yard touchdown run by Bengals sophomore defensive tackle Samuel Chien-Tauvao.
One last drive saw Cooper and the Silverwolves vying for a touchdown, and presumably an onside kick attempt, but a Lihai Tauteoli sack canceled those plans on fourth down for a third consecutive Fremont turnover.
“Man, it’s a missed block here, a missed read there and it just snowballed,” Nate Tuatagaloa said. “Every time we’d get something, we’d just shoot ourselves in the foot. It’s just plays that we ran over and over again, and it just, for some reason, something just happened (tonight).”
Even if its only for the short term, Nate Tuatagaloa knows how much Friday’s defeat hurts this particular Fremont team, which appeared poised for a possible run to the 5A title game following a 6-0 region finish as the Region 5 champion.
The No. 1 recruit in the state, senior five-star Tennessee commit Salesi Moa, gave Fremont the lead at halftime on a 25-yard completion, and subsequently a 15-yard touchdown from Manase Tuatagaloa after opening the first half with two missed punts and little working for the Silverwolves on the ground.
Moa, nor any of the other 29 rostered seniors, will get to be part of a dreamed-of first state title for Fremont football. Some seniors, such as Slade Parker, who plans on serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, won’t touch the turf in pads ever again.
“My football career is over and there’s no way to describe it,” Parker said. “I loved every second with these teammates. Nate came in last year and changed this program. There’s nothing — this is the worst feeling I’ve ever had.”
Parker hopes Friday leaves more than an imprint on next year’s team.
“I hope they remember this feeling next year,” Parker said. “Even the underclassmen, I know we’re all disappointed in this loss but the seniors set a good bar and I know (Fremont) wants that state championship.”
Two seasons in, Nate Tuatagaloa has lifted the bar for football at Fremont with back-to-back region titles, with a career-high nine wins this seaso. On Friday, Tuatagaloa left his team with an apology and broke down the huddle like clockwork.
“Our ultimate goal was to take state,” Tuatagaloa said. “We didn’t get that goal, but everything else, I wouldn’t trade this year for anything, even with this loss. I love these boys. I love what we did. This is my fault. I should’ve done a better job.”
Stats were not immediately available after Friday’s game.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
