Prep football playoffs: Mann’s pass breakup, Tuatagaloa’s career milestone help Fremont survive
Tuatagaloa the 10th in the 10,000-yard club; Morgan advances again
BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner
Fremont's Manase Tuatagaloa lets a pass fly in a game against Farmington on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Plain City.PLAIN CITY — Triston Mann knocked away a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 36 seconds left to preserve No. 2 Fremont High football’s 31-27 win over No. 15 Alta (4-7) in a back-and-forth contest in the second round of the 5A playoffs Friday.
Manase Tuatagaloa threw for three touchdowns for Fremont (8-2), despite an apparent hand injury that had backup quarterback Calvin Cooper replace Tuatagaloa several times. Tuatagaloa tossed touchdown passes of 41 and 80 yards to Salesi Moa, and the game-winning touchdown pass to Slade Parker (11 yards) with 6:49 left in the game.
Tuatagaloa passed 16 of 24 for 208 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the 10th quarterback in Utah prep football history to reach the career milestone of 10,000 career passing yards. With 99 passing TDs, his next would make him the 12th passer to join the 100-touchdown club.
Tuatagaloa joins Davis High’s Tradon Bessinger as a new addition to the 10,000-yard club this season and would join him on the TD list with one more as well; Bessinger reached both milestones two weeks ago in the final week of the regular season.
Moa finished with five catches for 139 yards and Taylor Graham carried 15 times for 100 yards.
Cooper tossed a 19-yard scoring strike to Parker to open the scoring with 11:03 left in the first quarter. Cam Graves booted a 44-yard field goal to give the Silverwolves a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Fremont will host No. 7 Brighton (6-5) on Nov. 7 in the quarterfinals. Brighton advanced with a 49-8 win over Granger.
MORGAN 49, RICHFIELD 14
MORGAN — Morgan ran out to a 49-7 lead to best No. 7 Richfield in the 3A second round and advance to the state semifinals for the 11th consecutive time.
Cade Randall passed for five touchdowns — four to Eli Mortensen — for No. 2 Morgan (10-1). Randall tossed a 49-yard scoring strike to Mortensen to open the scoring with 11:04 left in the first quarter. George Thurston scored on a 1-yard dive midway through the first quarter.
After a 58-yard pass from Richfield (7-5), Randall hit Jack Hurd for a 10-yard touchdown. Thurston scored again on a 2-yard plunge early in the second quarter. Randall and Mortensen connected for touchdown passes of 17 and 1 yards, and the Trojans led 42-7 at the half.
Randall and Mortensen teamed up again for Morgan’s final score, a 6-yard stripe with 9:40 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans will face No. 3 Manti (8-3) at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Southern Utah University. Manti advanced on a 55-10 win over North Sanpete.
HERRIMAN 62, WEBER 32
HERRIMAN — Zach Jenkins kicked a 33-yard field goal to give No. 12 Weber a 3-0 lead, then No. 5 Herriman (10-1) answered with 42 straight points for the win in the 6A second round.
Carter Payne passed for two scores for No. 12 Weber. Payne found Draycen Munoz for a 35-yard touchdown to make the score 42-10 with 59 seconds left in the first half. Thirty-five seconds later, Josh Hamblin returned an interception 60 yards for a score and the Warriors trailed 42-16 at the half.
With 2:44 left in the third quarter, Payne connected with Creed DeVries on a 37-yard touchdown pass, and a Munoz two-point conversion run accounted for the final Weber points. The Warriors end the year with a 4-6 record.
CORNER CANYON 63, LAYTON 9
DRAPER — No. 16 Layton got a field goal in the third quarter and a touchdown in the final frame in a 6A second-round loss at No. 1 Corner Canyon (9-1).
Ethan Larsen kicked a field goal for the Lancers. Lincoln Wilcox tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mason Condiff for the final margin. Layton ends the season with a 3-9 mark.
WEST 56, NORTHRIDGE 13
SALT LAKE CITY — No. 17 Northridge fell at No. 1 West (10-1) in the 5A second round.
Grant Slater scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter for Northridge. Makai So’o added a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Knights finish the year with a 5-6 record.
CEDAR 49, OGDEN 14
CEDAR CITY — No. 9 Ogden spotted No. 1 Cedar (11-0) a 49-0 lead in a road loss in the 3A second round.
Blake Weston threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Nash Bockwoldt, a two-point conversion pass to Jack Thompson, and capped the scoring with a 52-yard pitch-and-catch to Thompson. The Tigers end the season with a 7-5 mark.
VICTOR VALLEY-CA 27, LAYTON CHRISTIAN 24
VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Layton Christian Academy built a 24-8 lead, then gave up 19 points in the last 2:34 of game time in a season-ending loss at Victor Valley (California).
Ole Hensel booted a 44-yard field goal to open the scoring for Layton Christian. Trevor Halalilo scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards. Chris Munroe added a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles their largest lead with 5:19 left in the game.
Layton Christian ends the year with an 8-3 record.
WHITEHORSE 38, UMA-HILL FIELD 20
MONTEZUMA CREEK — No. 5 Utah Military Academy-Hill Field lost at No. 4 Whitehorse (6-2) in the 8-Player quarterfinals. The Thunderbirds end the season with a 5-6 record.
Sports editor Brett Hein contributed to this report.


