Prep football: Blind ambition led RJ Fonoti on Fremont’s game-defining touchdown drive
Silverwolves cut down Northridge's late stand 31-17
-
- RJ Fonoti, middle, hits the top half of Northridge’s Carson Murphy during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- A pack of Silverwolves cling to Northridge’s Carson Murphy during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Northridge’s Carson Murphy, left, takes the handoff from Liam Fresques, right, during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Fremont’s Aisa Tuatagaloa breaks past Northridge defenders Brandon Little, left, and Kyle Rawlings, right, during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Northridge’s Kyle Rawlings gets loud before kickoff during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Fremont’s Calvin Cooper, middle, delivers a pass to Wyatt Bennett (7) during a region football contest against Northridge at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Northridge coach Andrew Fresques, center, celebrates a succesful field goal by Garrett Burkhardt, not pictured, during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Fremont’s Aisa Tuatagaloa, left, and Ryan Connell, right, celebrate the latter bringing down Northridge’s Carson Murphy (2) during a region football contest at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
-
- Fremont coach Nate Tuatagaloa, center, calls to the sideline during a region football contest against Northridge at Fremont High School on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Plain City. (CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner).
PLAIN CITY — Few folks would recommend closing your eyes after receiving a handoff, but after shooting the gap on arguably the most important drive of the night, Fremont sophomore RJ Fonoti pushed through the hole, closed his eyes, and manifested pay dirt.
Most guys would be blindsided or knocked into next week, but Fonoti beamed 36 yards for a 24-17 Silverwolves lead just one possession after the sophomore athlete fumbled the ball away at midfield to set up Northridge with a Jayden Conner touchdown drive.
But after starting the season with significant injuries, two losses and the routine tribulations of high school football, Fonoti and Fremont can’t afford to collapse after a single turnover.
“I just had to take myself and say, ‘hey, that’s one bad play,'” Fonoti said. “We can make it up on the next one. … I was running through a hole; I saw a wide-open gap, and I shot it. I cut back in, closed my eyes, praying I was going to score, and I scored.”
It was a unique moment, Fremont coach Nate Tuatagaloa agreed, seeing his own player take accountability and churn out a solution for his team in the moment.
“We wanted our kids to know we still have confidence (in them), which is why we ran hurry-up,” Nate Tuatagaloa said. “We didn’t want to slow anything down. He was one of our ballers, and yeah, he made a mistake, but we wanted him to hurry up, get in there, and erase it. That was pretty cool, and it was a great call by our offense to push the pace.”
Rectifying his mistake, Fonoti set Fremont up for an important defensive stand with Krew Hannum knocking away Fresques’ fourth-down pass intended for Brandon Little.
Fremont, taking over on downs, punched home another touchdown drive courtesy of Isaia Fonotisatele, carrying the ball in for a 7-yard score to cap the 31-17 region win at Moyes Field.
Silverwolves quarterback Calvin Cooper and Fremont (4-2, 3-0 Region 5) received quite the challenge from Northridge (2-4, 0-2), which overcame starting running back Carson Murphy’s late injury to string together consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.
Momentum, sweet momentum
Momentum blows like the wind and, for a moment, Northridge had it all.
After a second-quarter holding penalty canceled out a Jak Masters strip sack with an Aisa Tuatagaloa touchdown return, the Knights marched down the field and leaned on Garrett Burkhardt for a 44-yard field goal for the first points of the night.
Fremont wasted little time getting its offense back on track, though, and Cooper led the Wolves on a quick scoring drive capitalized by an 11-yard Breckon Phillips touchdown catch. Fresques threw his first of two interceptions on the next possession, leading to a 10-3 halftime deficit.
“They did a really good job of disguising their coverages and blitzes,” Fresques said. “(Fonoti) does a really good job blitzing off the edge, and (Masters) did a really good job getting off the edge. It’s honestly something I’ve gotta correct. I wasn’t in the best headspace.”
Isaia Fonotisatele picked off Fresques for a second time, and Aisa Tuatagaloa took the ball 45 yards for a 17-3 lead before the end of the third quarter.
But an inactive Northridge offense was about to wake up, charging downfield and into the red zone for the first time.
In the clutch
Murphy, on the very play that seemingly rattled his right knee, put the Knights inside the 5-yard line and paved the way for a short-yardage Conner touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.
Not one to flinch, Northridge’s defense forced a takeaway when Fonoti lost control of the football running up the middle and linebacker Destin Smith fell on it near midfield. It resulted in a lengthy scoring march, headlined by a major grab by Zander Kap to preserve the drive on fourth-and-5, followed by the junior tight end’s 10-yard touchdown reception.
The ability to step up and create, Fresques said, kept his lads in Friday’s contest.
“Carson’s a dog. He gives everything he has, but the thing I love best about this team is we’ve got the next-guy mentality and we’ve got plenty of guys that can get it done,” Fresques said. “We can keep Carson in our hearts, but injuries happen. It’s part of the game, and you’ve gotta keep playing.”
Fonoti understands that philosophy, too.
His redeeming 36-yard touchdown carry marked the dagger, and the resulting stop was the final blow to a Northridge squad that walked into Plain City and left every ounce on the field.
Likewise, Fremont is figuring out how to win with guys who are out of position, or simply learning a new one to keep moving the sticks. Fonoti, typically found at linebacker, and Aisa Tuatagaloa, initially a full-time defensive back, each played a key role in the backfield.
“We’ve just gotta bring the energy,” Fonoti said. “Me and Aisa, the starting linebackers, everybody playing both sides of the field, making sure everybody’s heads are up and just ball out.”
Up next
With the win, Fremont is tied with West Field at 3-0 in the region picture. Box Elder is 2-0; the Bees took a 34-32 home loss to Rigby (Idaho) in a nonregion game Friday. That’s the first of the season for the Bees, which opened the year winning five consecutive games, including a 34-0 shutout at Northridge.
The Silverwolves travel to Farmington for a nonregion game on Friday, Sept. 25. Likewise, Northridge is back on the road at West Field in search of its first region win after a late flat tire in Plain City.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
