Prep football: Barlow, Morgan steering straight after disappointing start
Trojan offense unloads on Sky View in 47-0, mercy-rule victory
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- Morgan’s George Thurston is jubilant after scoring a touchdown during a nonregion football contest against Sky View at Morgan High School on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Morgan. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan’s George Thurston, middle, powers through a pack of Bobcats during a nonregion football contest against Sky View at Morgan High School on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Morgan. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)
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- Morgan’s Owen Gilson runs the ball during a nonregion football contest against Sky View at Morgan High School on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Morgan. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)
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- The Morgan football team undergoing walkthroughs before a Week 2 battle with Sky View at Morgan High School on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Morgan. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner)
MORGAN — Jared Barlow is something of a maestro when it comes to weaving disappointing losses into resilient victories.
Morgan High’s head football coach could’ve simply berated his team after a 48-28 loss to Ridgeline in last week’s season opener at Weber State’s Stewart Stadium, but instead chose to ignore the scoreboard in favor of just how good the second half looked.
A 31-yard Rhett Larsen touchdown catch and 25-yard interception returned for touchdown by senior linebacker Krew Asay seemingly pulled the Trojans into the fight. But even a late dash by junior running back George Thurston was too little, too late to begin the season with a win.
Returning home to face Sky View on Thursday night, the Trojans delivered with a 47-0 victory that prompted the UHSAA’s new 44-point mercy rule when the third quarter closed.
“We (had) to come out and prove something,” Thurston said. “Ridgeline kinda took it to us, so we wanted to come out and punch Sky View in the face.”
Sky View (1-1) nearly extended the contest via quarterback Tucker Stokes eyeing Nixon Bohm in the red zone as the third-quarter clock expired. The Trojans (1-1) came up with the game-sealing stop, forcing a fifth and final turnover by the Bobcats.
Morgan senior quarterback Owen Gilson threw for four touchdowns totaling 118 yards, including a 91-yard connection with Larsen and leading his team to 41 points before the second half.
Cool and collected, Gilson ready to lead Morgan
Hot on his feet, Owen Gilson is a tough guy to catch out of the backfield if you’re not looking.
At 5-foot-8, the shifty Gilson, who started two games last season as the backup to 2026 graduate Cade Randall, made many a Bobcat miss on Thursday. He’d hit three different targets for touchdowns over the course of the night, but Barlow left the game impressed with just how much control his starter showed a week removed from the Ridgeline loss.
“There’s a lot of growth last week, a lot of opportunities for him to see where he can improve,” Barlow said. “I love his growth that he had from Week 1 to Week 2. He’s a lot calmer, tried to take a little bit more of what they were giving. One of his strengths is his athleticism, and so we worked on, hey, when you have opportunities, don’t force the ball, use your feet.”
Senior linebacker Cade Spens picked off Stokes on the game’s opening drive, and Gilson followed it up with a quick scoring drive by finding Thurston on a short-range touchdown toss.
Up 21 points after another Thurston run, Gilson had a 10-yard touchdown scamper negated by a flag. It’s not personal, Gilson reminds himself, and the senior says there’s a bank of lessons Randall, the team’s former starter, left in his path for the season ahead.
“I feel pretty comfortable back there and that my team trusts me,” Gilson said. “I think one of the biggest things (Randall) taught me is just to have fun. It’s just a game you’re playing with your boys. Just have fun and make it enjoyable, that’s when you play your best.”
Gilson, too, is taking a shine to Barlow’s coaching philosophy as the team’s quarterback.
“Instead of tearing us down, he coached us,” Gilson said. “He helped us work harder every day in practice. He knew the potential of our team, so he just helped get that out of us.”
Grinding tape
Barlow puts an emphasis on film, and on replicating it on the field as if his team were conducting a Civil War reenactment. Instead of muskets and cannonballs, though, the Trojans have terrific pad level with emerging playmakers Thurston and Spens.
Spens conceived the game’s opening touchdown by reading Stokes’ initial throw like a flash card. Realizing the game’s first turnover was in his senior’s hands, Barlow felt a sense of relief that his team left practice prepared and woke up Thursday ready to pounce at kickoff.
“When you prepare yourself, watch film and study, you can put yourself in a position to make big plays and that’s what (Spens) continues to do,” Barlow said.
Thurston, reeling in two touchdown catches and adding another on the ground, was visible throughout the action. A track star, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound running back is playing “selfless” football through the first few weeks of his junior season and is becoming a guy opposing defenses want to get their hands on, Barlow said.
“That’s the best thing he’s going to do for our team: do what he’s supposed to do, and help everyone else,” Barlow said.
Morgan’s first win of the season marks the latest example of the UHSAA’s new 44-point mercy rule, which automatically ends a contest when one team leads by 44 or more points at the conclusion of the third quarter or anytime in the fourth. The score, though, wasn’t on Barlow’s mind.
“Scores take care of themselves,” Barlow said. “We just want to make sure we’re doing the right things, and when you do the right things, that’s exciting.”
Morgan next travels to Park City for its second road test on Friday, Aug. 28.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
