Prep football: Fremont ground game rockets by West Field 65-3 in historic offensive night
In new rivalry, Longhorns longed for an answer against four Fremont rushers
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- Fremont High’s Taylor Graham (14) struts into the end zone against West Field on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Manase Tuatagaloa, right, flies past West Field’s defense during a region football contest on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
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- West Field High receiver Gavin Ortegon (88) tries to navigate the sideline after a reception against Fremont’s Taggart Burton (1) on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Ryan Connell (58) and Slade Parker (2) celebrate a stop against West Field during a region football contest on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
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- West Field’s Brexton White, left, and Chaz Barker, pull down Fremont’s Manase Tuatagaloa during a region football contest on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
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- Fremont High’s Wyatt Bennett (13) upends West Field’s Boston Kap (1) during a kickoff return on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Reciprocating your defense is half the battle, and neglecting to do so is like keeping your eyes away from the stove.
And like a covered pot, Fremont rapidly boiled over on West Field 65-3 in the schools’ first-ever football meeting for a coveted fifth Region 5 win Thursday at Moyes Field. Fremont’s 65 points mark the highest single-game sum in school history.
Numerous first-quarter chances bought by the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2 Region 5) defensively simply evaporated when asked to answer on the other end. The first of two interceptions thrown by West Field sophomore quarterback Easton Eilertson, later replaced by senior wide receiver and kicker Jaden Fowers in the second half, set the Silverwolves (7-2, 5-0) up for success early.
Senior Cade Hadley put the Silverwolves in front 7-0 after Slade Parker ripped off the first of two Eilertson picks, and fellow senior Chase Blanch kept the ground game moving atop the second quarter with a 12-yard touchdown rush for a 14-0 lead.
“We’ve had a great week of practice and when it comes to our run game, we’re very confident in what our O-line can do for our running backs,” Fremont coach Nate Tuatagaloa said.
In the end, Fremont outrushed West Field 357-49 (with total yardage 600-158). Taylor Graham racked up 145 yards on seven carries for the Silverwolves and Blanch added 84 yards on 10 carries.
Two turnovers by the Longhorns (Eilertson’s first interception and a missed 48-yard field goal try by Fowers after another defensive stop) preceded the vistors’ first punt of the game, setting up a third consecutive ground touchdown, this time by Fremont senior quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa. That had the Silverwolves prepared to blow the doors open, leading 21-0 with 6:56 still to play in the half.
Coming off a narrow, 29-27 win at Layton last week, second-year West Field coach Eric Jones hoped his run game would’ve extended more of those first-half drives.
“We were unable to run the ball, which made us a little one-dimensional,” Jones said. “Athletically, on the back end, they were able to cover us up pretty well. The turnovers really hurt and we couldn’t stop their offense on short fields or long fields.”
Fremont junior Landon Palmer came up with Eilertson’s second interception on the following drive, setting up a Salesi Moa 6-yard touchdown catch. West Field’s starter then fumbled into the hands of a nearby Jase Friedel for a second Longhorns turnover inside their own 25-yard line.
Kickers Cam Graves, nailing a chip shot for Fremont to make the score 30-nil, and Fowers, getting West Field on the board with a 46-yarder with under 2 minutes left in the half, preceded one last Fremont touchdown: an 80-yard home run catch by Moa to end the half.
Graham, a senior, joined Hadley and Blanch’s rushing fiesta, scoring twice on the ground (his longest totaling 71 yards) in the second half. Two more ground scores by Parker, and one from senior Jaxon Funk, wrapped up the contest, with the latter running back hitting the historic 65-point mark.
Fowers threw two second-half interceptions during his quarterback duties for West Field.
Simply put, every one of Fremont’s running threats got a piece of their new rivals.
“We wanted to contain all their playmakers and we were unable to do that,” Jones said. “It’s a really strong rivalry getting the first edition kicked off, but they have a better team than us right now and we have a lot of work to do.”
Manase Tuatagaloa finished passing 14 of 22 for 202 yards in Fremont’s passing game. Moa caught three passes for 139 yards and Parker had 54 yards on four catches. Taggart Burton totaled six tackles and Breckston Christensen totaled 2.5 tackles for loss.
For West Field, Eilertson threw for 109 yards and Elijah Woods totaled 59 yards on 14 carries. Gavin Ortegon had five catches for 58 yards.
With the win, Fremont officially claims the football series 1-0 amid a heated region race that concludes next week by hosting Roy. West Field is slated for another tall test at home against Box Elder. Fremont has a one-game lead on Box Elder for the region crown.
The Silverwolves will move forward without their starting running back, however. Hadley suffered an ACL and meniscus injury, ending his season. Hadley shot out of the gates this season with four straight 100-yard games and totaled 745 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games.
“My heart goes out to Cade Hadley,” Nate Tuatagaloa said. “We have guys that stepped up today and things like that, but it’s one of those things where I will gladly trade this — I still want a victory — but I will gladly trade it for Cade to be healthy.”
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
