Jennifer Thomas / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork football team edged out the Lone Peak Knights 28-24 on Thursday (Sept. 24) in a thrilling Region 3 showdown, powered by a game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds.

The rivalry matchup stayed close throughout the night, with both sides trading blows in a tense tactical battle. While Lone Peak’s defense stifled the run and kept pressure in the backfield for much of the contest, American Fork sophomore quarterback Jake Matsen unlocked the offense through the air.

Matsen repeatedly hurt the Knights with pinpoint long passes, connecting with star junior receiver Cash Taiese for three crucial touchdowns to keep the Cavemen within striking distance.

“Jake started a little slow, but man, I think we saw him grow up really fast throughout the span of those four quarters,” said American Fork head Coach Aaron Behm. “He played a good game.” Matsen completed 24-of-36 (67%) of his passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

Lone Peak opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run by Pili Mounga. The Knights extended their lead in the second period with a field goal, putting the Cavemen in a 10-point deficit.

Lone Peak’s defense was stout, and it was hard for American Fork to gain yards and make chunk plays. They locked down the field, making it nearly impossible for the Caveman offense to move the chains or find any momentum.

However, sophomore defensive back Braden Litke managed to strip the ball from a Lone Peak receiver to give his team possession at midfield with just over a minute remaining until the break. A few plays later, Matsen hit Taiese with a 27-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit to 10-7.

The energized Cavemen then quickly capitalized on a fumbled Lone Peak snap deep in Knight territory. With just 11 seconds left in the half, Matsen threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Taiese, stealing the lead at 14-10 right before heading to the locker room.

“It was a huge play for Braden to strip the ball and for Mason Peterson to recover the fumble,” said Behm. “Braden hasn’t received a lot of starts, but he gets it done when he’s in there and he definitely made a huge play for us tonight when we needed it.” Peterson also had eight tackles in the game.

Following the intermission, American Fork established its dominance on the gridiron, playing with a heightened sense of urgency and efficiency.

The Lone Peak defense used its size to push back, but the Cavemen found an answer when Matsen connected with senior tight end Christian Hanshaw for a 28-yard scoring completion, increasing their lead to 21-10. Hanshaw collected four receptions for 80 yards on the night.

“This game was two really good teams coming down to the wire and that’s high school football at it’s very best and we were very fortunate to come out on the winning side,” said Behm.

“We had some periods where we didn’t play well and the other side of the ball picked us up, but we got some turnovers to get some points on the board before halftime and that was a big deal,” continued the coach.

The dramatic fourth quarter proved challenging for the Cavemen. Costly mistakes opened the door for Lone Peak to punch in back-to-back touchdowns, shifting the lead once more and leaving the Cavemen down 21-24 with a mere 60 seconds left to play.

With the outcome at stake, a calm and confident Matsen marched the Cavemen down the field under intense pressure and capped off the drive with 19 seconds remaining by delivering a perfect 25-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Taiese.

Matsen leaned heavily on standout receiver Taiese in critical situations, showcasing their exceptional chemistry. Taiese finished the night with 10 catches for 119 yards and the three scores.

“Cash is a junior captain and he’s a leader. He’s been starting since he was a freshman. He played a great game,” said Behm. “Jake knew with the game on the line, he’s the guy to look for.”

“All I do is trust the guys,” said Matsen. “We have practiced this before and I just knew my boy Cash would get the ball on the one-on-one and pull away with the win.”

Despite facing a potent Knight offense, the well-coached Caveman defense held firm under pressure, executing critical stops throughout the game.

Led by stand-out performers senior defensive back Lincoln Miller (7 solo of 10 tackles), junior linebacker Ty Wilson (5 solo of 7 tackles) and senior lineman Dalin Afu (8 tackles), the defensive line collapsed the pocket on crucial third downs, preventing Lone Peak from fully sustaining their downfield momentum in the middle quarters.

A key interception by safety Noah Behm energized the entire defense at a critical moment in the game. “Noah’s pick helped us get into position where we could score and made a big difference to take the lead before the half,” said Coach Behm. Noah Behm also supplied four solo and nine total tackles.

The defining moment for the American Fork defense came down to the final second of the game. Following Matsen’s go-ahead touchdown pass, Lone Peak drove deep into Cavemen territory, executing one final desperate pass to the corner of the end zone with just 0:01 left on the clock.

A messy, physical struggle erupted at the pylon as American Fork’s secondary swarmed the receiver to block him from the end zone. The officials’ controversial goal-line ruling secured a dramatic win for the Cavemen as time expired, igniting fierce post-game replay debates.

Fans from both sides stormed the field at the same time to celebrate a win, overshadowing the game’s dramatic ending with pure chaos.

“I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t have been much farther from that sideline to see what happened over there, and with all the bodies flying around,” said Behm. “I never saw two hands go up. I only saw them spot the ball dead…Hopefully they got it right.”

“I am proud of how we pushed all the way through tonight,” said Matsen. “We had a rough start at the beginning but got things rolling.”

“I think the highlight for me was that it was a full team effort tonight. I’m really proud of the team and the memories that these guys will have of playing in this game this year. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. When we got to the fourth quarter they really responded well,” concluded Behm.

With the win, American Fork advances to 6-1 for the season. The Cavemen will host the Lehi Pioneers on Friday (Oct. 2) with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork mountain biking team has been dominating Region 6 competition to this point in the season. The Cavemen scored 4670 points in the first race and 4578 points in a narrower win for the third event, with Pleasant Grove finishing second. Team scores were not posted for the middle event.

Junior Hallie Lunsford has been leading the charge for American Fork. She has won all three Varsity Girls races so far. On August 15 at Beaver, she finished in 1:09:22.83. She recorded a 45:12.18 mark at Gunnison on August 29 and followed that with a 1:17:22.34 at Eagle Mountain on September 12.

Junior Reed Evans has been the top performer for the Caveman in the Varsity Boys division. He finished 1.27 seconds behind the leader at Beaver in 1:19:26.61. He was third at Gunnison in 59:50.64 and second at Eagle Mountain in 1:30:55.47.

The other scoring riders at Beaver included senior Ryder Warnock (297), junior Austin Carr (293), junior Cannon Christiansen (291), junior Asher Anderson (290) and junior Jason Keller (289) in the Varsity Boys race and sophomore Kimball Gay (290), sophomore Jackson Packard (289), sophomore Benjamin Preece (288) and sophomore Austin Gunther (287) in the JV A Boys race.

In the girls division the other contributors included junior Norma Rockwell (295), senior Laura Jacobsen (293), junior Paige Lucas (291) and junior Dawsey Lauritzen (290) in Varsity plus Rickeisha O’Keefe (288) in JV A.

At the Gunnison event, additional scoring contributors included junior Baden Carr (297), Warnock (294), Christiansen (292), Anderson (291) and Austin Carr (290) in the Boys Varsity division, plus Gay (290), Packard (289), Gunther (287) and Preece (286) in JV A Boys.

In the girls races, Rockwell (294), Lauritzen (292), Lucas (291) and junior Ellie Teerlink (285) in the Varsity category provided additional points.

In Eagle Mountain, the other scoring riders were Anderson (297), Austin Carr (295), Warnock (294) and Baden Carr 290 from Varsity Boys plus Gay (290), Preece (288) and Packard (287) from JV A Boys.

Contributors from Girls Varsity included Rockwell 298, Jacobsen 295, Lucas 293, Lauritzen 289 and Teerlink 288. In addition, Girls JV A riders O’Keefe (288) and Adelia Olson (287) rounded out the team total.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

A three-medal performance from Marsha Baird highlighted the USATF Utah showing at the World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships, contested August 22-September 3 in Daegu, South Korea.

Competing in the Women’s 50-54 division, Baird captured a pair of world titles, winning the Heptathlon with 5,479 points and helping Team USA to victory in the 4x100m Relay in 52.14 seconds.

She added a silver medal in the Javelin Throw with a mark of 36.69m to complete her three-medal championship performance and adding to her already long list of accomplishments in the sport.

Baird also recorded two additional top-five finishes, placing fifth in the Long Jump with a mark of 4.47m and fifth in the Shot Put at 11.75m.

“The part I loved most about World Masters Athletics in Korea is connecting with my friends from all over the world and making new connections,” Baird said. “Track and Field has always allowed me to connect with people; however, master’s is on a whole other level.

“As very mature adults, the connection is stronger and more genuine,” she said. “We care about the competition, but we seem to care about each other more. During competition there is a special camaraderie that takes place. The spirit of the games becomes US.”

Born in the tiny Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Baird started competing in the heptathlon upon her admission to Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in 1993. Two years later, she transferred to Brigham Young University on an athletic scholarship and continued her career there.

While competing for the Cougars, Baird placed ninth in the heptathlon at the outdoor NCAA Championships and contributed to a runner-up finish for the women’s track and field team at the Western Athletic Conference meet in San Diego (CA) during her junior year.

After graduating from BYU with a master’s degree in social work, Baird began training with the goal of qualifying for an Olympic berth. In her first major global event, Baird claimed a silver medal in heptathlon at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

On her Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, Baird became the first-ever athlete from Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the heptathlon, finishing 22^nd with 5627 points. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, she finished 25^th with a Trinidad and Tobago record total of 5962 points.

Baird was the national record holder for her country in the Javelin from 2000-2018. In August 2015, she competed in her first World Masters Championships in Lyon, France. She earned individual gold in the W40 heptathlon, javelin and long jump.

Dropping down an age group, she also anchored the victorious women’s over-35 4×100m relay squad which set a world record for their division in this event.

Baird has continued to compete on the Master’s circuit in both indoor and outdoor events, earning a pile of medals and setting new records in the W50-54 Heptathlon and Pentathlon in 2024.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

After dropping their first two Region 3 matches, the American Fork High School girls soccer team earned three victories in a row to move into second place behind undefeated Lone Peak in the league standings. With an overall record now of 11-3, the Cavemen are ranked at No. 3 in Class 6A and No. 7 statewide.

Sept. 15: American Fork 2, Corner Canyon 0

The Cavemen scored a goal in each half at home over the Chargers to get their first league win in a shutout. Sophomore forward Ivy Jacobson had both a goal and an assist in the contest.

She passed to senior midfielder Charlotte Anderson for the other score. Sophomore midfielder Claira Connors made the give to Jacobson.

Sept. 17: American Fork 2, Lehi 1

Playing at home again, the Cavemen survived a tough test against the Pioneers. American Fork found the net once in the first half and scored again in the second period. Lehi cut the deficit in half but were held out of the goal the rest of the way despite a determined attack.

Senior forward Cambree Ballard hit the target once and also assisted senior midfielder Suri Parsia as she scored the other goal.

Sept. 22: American Fork 4, Skyridge 0

The Cavemen flipped the script on the Falcons in a startling turnaround. After dropping their region opener to Skyridge 3-0, American Fork responded with an overwhelming victory behind the shutout from freshman goalkeeper Sofia Crowley between the pipes.

Junior midfielder Eva Gunn tallied a goal and an assist in the triumph. Connors and Parsia each found the net as well and Ballard contributed two gives in the effort. The Cavemen will complete Region 3 play with three road matches.

They visit Lone Peak on Tuesday (Sept. 29) at 3:30 p.m., then Corner Canyon on Thursday (Oct. 1) and Lehi on Oct. 6. Both of those final contests are set to kick off at 7 p.m.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School boys cross country team won both the varsity and JV competitions at the Wahsatch Rendezvous, hosted by Hillcrest High School at the Cottonwood Sports Complex in Salt Lake City on Saturday (Sept. 19). It was run on a three-mile, hilly grass course.

“The Wahsatch Rendezvous has a unique format,” said Coach Timo Mostert. “There are seven separate varsity races, one for each team position. The Cavemen won six of the seven races for a total of eight points to win overall.” The other team participant finished second.

The total time spread between the No. 1 and No. 7 runners for American Fork was about 1:25. This is a tight margin and reflects how the Cavemen finish so high in typical races where the positions run together.

Here’s the results for American Fork in the varsity races.

• Varsity #1 Race: 1. Junior Chase Hejny in 15:06.3
• Varsity #2 Race: 1. Junior David Webb in 15:09.2
• Varsity #3 Race: 1. Senior Roy Jones in 15:54.4
• Varsity #4 Race: 1. Sophomore Bennett Jensen in 16:04.2
• Varsity #5 Race: 2. Junior Dax Jolley in 16:11.49
• Varsity #6 Race: 1. Sophomore Michael Jones in 16:31.8
• Varsity #7 Race: 1. Senior Trey Nielsen in 16:21.1

The Cavemen sept the top five spots in the Junior Varsity Boys event, earning a perfect score of 15 in a field of 17 teams. American Fork’s top five in this race are all juniors and had an impressive total spread of just 10.3 seconds.

The group included Logan Wagstaff in first place at 16:33.1, followed by Will Thresher at 16:38.1, Mac Thresher at 16:38.8, Race Low at 16:41.8 and Joshua Piccolo at 16:43.4. A dozen other runners also represented the Cavemen in this event.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

After giving up a quick early lead to the Darts in their stadium, the American Fork football team roared back with 23 unanswered points to move in front and then turned back late efforts by the hosts to hang on for a 29-21 win at Davis.

The Darts received the ball to start the contest and marched right down the field to take the initial 7-0 lead at the 7:35 mark after a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Bode Sparrow, their 4-star Oklahoma commit.

The Cavemen responded with chunk-play completions from sophomore quarterback Jake Matsen to junior wide receiver Cash Taiese and senior wide receiver Mason Brooks to reach the Davis 21.

The drive stalled there however, and American Fork settled for a 39-yard field goal from senior kicker Jace Worthington to narrow the gap to 3-7 with 6:09 remaining in the first quarter.

The Darts finished their next drive with a run from the wildcat formation to extend their advantage to 14-3 with 2:57 left in the period.

Senior running back Ben Iongi converted on a crucial 4^th-and-2 during the next Cavemen drive. However, they were stymied again close to the red zone and Worthington booted another 39-yard field goal to add a few more points to the tally at the 10:16 mark of the second quarter to begin American Fork’s run.

The subsequent Davis possession ended when senior safety Noah Behm intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it to the 23-yard line. The Cavemen moved quickly to capitalize on the turnover.

With an improvised Matsen run and a key catch by senior tight end Christian Hanshaw sparking the advance, Iongi finally found the end zone for American Fork and Worthington’s PAT drew his team closer at 13-14 with 2:51 left to the break. That score stood to the half.

During the initial possession of the third period, the Cavemen got their first lead when Matsen connected with Hanshaw on a 1-yard touchdown toss. American Fork attempted a two-point conversion to widen the gap to a touchdown, but the effort was unsuccessful and left the score 19-14 at 8:03.

The Caveman defense scuttled the subsequent Dart drive and got the ball back for their teammates in short order. Taiese picked up 32 yards with a spectacular leaping grab to penetrate the Davis end and senior running back DC Fonua later drove in the nail with a 21-yard catch from Matsen.

Worthington’s PAT gave American Fork a two-score advantage at 26-14 with 4:37 to go in the quarter. The Darts were forced to punt again to end their next drive, but they intercepted on the first play of the Caveman series. A second Sparrow score drew his team closer at 21-26 with 1:05 remaining.

American Fork launched a long clock-chewing drive from the 18-yard line. Back-to-back rushes from senior running back Tani Vaki brought the ball to the 7-yard mark, where Worthington split the uprights for the third time with a field goal to push the spread to 29-21 with 7:29 left to the final whistle.

The final two Davis possessions ended with a punt and a turnover on downs at the AF 22-yard line after Noah Behm deflected a 4^th-and-12 pass in the end zone with seconds to go in the contest.

Matsen completed 25-of-43 passes for 314 yards with two touchdowns and one pick, also adding 29 yards on the ground. Iongi was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 41 tough yards.

Taiese was the top receiver with 10 catches for 118 yards. Brooks had three receptions for 71 yards and junior wide receiver Ty Holmstead snagged four throws yielding 64 yards.

On the other side of the ball, senior defensive lineman Dalin Afu recorded four solo and seven total tackles including four for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Noah Behm added four solo and three assisted tackles including one for loss plus the pick and two deflections.

Senior linebacker Mason Peterson had three solo of seven total tackles and senior linebacker Sam Thompson provided six combined tackles.

“I’m really proud of our kids and how they focused on every single play,” said head Coach Aaron Behm. “Davis has some amazing athletes. We knew they would make some plays and when they did, we really just needed to focus on the next play and get back to work.

“After being down at halftime, we knew our first possession of the second half was going to be critical,” the coach continued. “To go out and score on our first two offensive drives of the second half was huge to set the tone for the rest of the game.

“The defense did a great job of getting a few stops and creating a turnover, and then standing up and keeping Davis out of the end zone on their final possession to seal the game,” he concluded.

With a 5-1 record, the Cavemen are now ranked at No. 5 in the latest 6A RPI rankings heading into Region 3 play. Two other league teams, Skyridge and Corner Canyon, are ranked ahead of them. They get the gauntlet started at Lone Peak on Thursday (Sept. 24) with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School girls volleyball team earned four wins and four losses in the past two weeks to bring their overall record to 8-8 at this point. The stretch included an appearance in a prestigious tournament during which the Cavemen played six matches in three days.

Sept. 3: American Fork 3, Farmington 0

The Cavemen collected a solid, consistent win on the road as they swept the Phoenix 25-18, 25-19, 25-18. Junior opposite Alivia Lemon was the top hitter for American Fork with 12 kills.

Senior outside hitter Macy Melville added eight kills, 12 digs and 13 serve-receives. Senior outside hitter Destinie Hampton provided seven kills, served three aces, dug 12 times and took 14 serve-receives.  Senior setter Brynn Murray dished out 27 assists.

Sept. 8: Corner Canyon 3, American Fork 0

The Cavemen opened Region 3 play against the top-ranked, undefeated Chargers. They competed well in the first two sets but Corner Canyon prevailed 25-23, 25-21, 25-13.

Melville offered a great, all-around effort with 11 kills, two solo blocks, 12 digs and 13 serve-receives. Hampton added seven kills, two aces and 12 serve-receives.

Senior libero Taanii Fielding made 10 digs and took 15 serve-receives. Murray supplied 11 digs along with 22 assists.

Sept. 10-12: American Fork goes 3-3 at Invite

The Cavemen earned split results in the three-day Utah Valley Invitational Tournament. The first day was played at local venues and American Fork had their first two matches at Mountain View High School. Tournament action moved to UVU for the final two days.

• Springville: The Cavemen got off to a slow start against the Red Devils and lost the first set 20-25, but they regrouped after that to blitz Springville 25-9, 25-16, 25-9 in the final three games to secure the match win.
• Canyon View: The Cavemen pulled out a competitive first set 25-20, but the scrappy Falcons came back to capture the second game 25-22. It wasn’t easy, but American Fork closed out the match 25-18, 25-22.
• Skyline: The Cavemen played a marathon five-set, back-and-forth match with the Eagles. Skyline won the first set 25-16, then American Fork took the next game 25-22. The Eagles responded with a 25-23 third set, and the Cavemen worked hard to counter again to prevail 28-26 in the fourth game. The tie-breaker set was a battle, but American Fork managed to get it done 15-13 for the thrilling victory.
• Orem: Coming off that emotional win, the Cavemen had to take on a very good Tiger team the same day. They started out a bit flat but got stronger as the match went on. However, Orem secured the match win 25-11, 25-19, 25-23.
• Green Canyon: The Wolves came into this match with an 11-2 record and a high ranking. The Cavemen shocked them with a hard-won 27-25 victory in the first set, but Green Canyon took the rest 25-22, 25-10, 25-21 to add their 12^th win.
• Owyhee (Meridian ID): The Cavemen got off to a great start against this highly-regarded team from Idaho, claiming the first set 25-14. The Storm bounced back to win the next two 25-21, 25-21. American Fork kept their hopes alive by capturing the fourth game 25-20, but Owyhee earned the match win by 15-11 in the tiebreaker.

The Cavemen continue the Region 3 schedule by hosting Lehi on Thursday (Sept. 17) and Skyridge on Tuesday (Sept. 24). Varsity matches begin around 6:30 p.m.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork boys golf team is continuing to hold its own competing in rugged Region 3 play. The Cavemen were narrowly third and fourth in the most recent tournaments.

Sept. 8: American Fork third at Fox Hollow

Playing on their home course, the Cavemen shot their best team score so far in the league season during the fifth Region 3 tournament at Fox Hollow Golf Club in American Fork.

The Pioneers again finished first with a 278, ahead of Corner Canyon at 282 and American Fork at 283. Lone Peak ended with a 290, just ahead of Skyridge at 293.

The entire squad turned in a great round, and the four counted scores were all under par. Sophomore James Smith was the team leader at 70 (-2) strokes.

Three golfers tied at 71 (-1): junior Sam Fairbanks, junior Landon Lieu and junior Cade Henneman, to complete the combined team score.

Senior Wes Brown was right behind them at 72, followed by junior Ben Davis and junior Cash Van Buren with 76 apiece and senior Chad Douglass at 77 for the other varsity players on this occasion.

The Cavemen finished second in the JV division, just three strokes behind the Knights. Sam Bitner tied with one other golfer to win that round with an excellent 71 (-1) result.

Sept. 14: Cavemen fourth at Soldier Hollow

The sixth Region 3 tournament was contested at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway. Lone Peak earned the top spot in this one at 279, followed by Corner Canyon at 283, Lehi at 286, American Fork at 290 and Skyridge at 296.

Brown carded a 69 (-3) to finish sixth in the individual medalist race, followed by Lieu at 73 with Fairbanks and Smith tying at 74 to complete the counted scores.

The other varsity participants included Henneman at 75, Van Buren at 77, plus freshman Will Zimmerman and Brayden Stolk tied at 82.

In the JV tournament, the Cavemen once again finished second to the Knights by three strokes. Davis was the leader for American Fork with a mark of 75.

The next Region 3 tournament is set for Monday (Sept. 21) at the Riverbend Golf Course in Riverton.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School cross country teams won all four races they entered in the PM session of the Park City Invitational, held at the Quinn’s Junction Sports Park on Friday (Sept. 11). The field for this portion of the event was 10 schools, and they competed on a 3-mile grass and rocky dirt trail course.

Caveman senior Skye Jensen won the girls varsity race in 18:10.7. All of American Fork’s scoring runners finished in the top 10 to earn a combined score of 26 points, far outdistancing Timpanogos at 46 in second place and West Field at 102 in third.

Senior Shay Smith finished fourth overall at 19:29.6, followed by junior Rebekah Jacob fifth at 19:42.2, sophomore Scarlett Simkins seventh at 19:55.9 and sophomore Leila Maughan came in ninth at 20:03.3. The other varsity entrants were freshman Quincy Skousen 10^th and sophomore Addie Low 15^th.

The Cavemen did not enter their top five boys in this event, but American Fork won the varsity race anyway with 32 points over Farmington at 48 points and Timpanogos at 94 points.

Sophomore Michael Jones crossed the finish line first for the Cavemen in second place overall at 15:49.6. The other scoring runners included senior Trey Nielsen in third at 15:58.4, junior Logan Wagstaff seventh at 16:20.4, junior Race Low ninth at 16:31.6 and junior Mac Thresher 11^th at 16:41.3.

Junior Will Thresher (13^th), junior Joshua Piccolo (14^th) and sophomore Joshua Jensen (16^th) also competed for American Fork in the varsity event.

The junior varsity girls earned a perfect score of 15 by sweeping the top five spots in the race, also placing nine other runners in the top 20. Senior Sophie Bahr led the way in 19:45.8 as the gold medalist.

Junior Reid Freeman claimed the top spot in the boys JV race, with teammates finishing in second, fourth, fifth and 11^th to earn 23 points to complete the sweep for American Fork.

Rob Shelton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork football team turned a September 11 tribute night into a statement, blanking the Layton Lancers 45-0 on Friday to end the game early and push their record to 4-1 with one more game before heading into region play.

It wasn’t close from the start. The Cavemen scored on offense, defense and special teams, built a 32-0 halftime lead and invoked the mercy to end the game partway through the fourth quarter. Layton, now 2-3, never found the end zone.

“What a cool environment playing on September 11th,” head Coach Aaron Behm said. “The pregame stuff was pretty awesome. … And then to go out and play well was icing on top of the cake.”

American Fork opened the scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run by senior running back DC Fonua with 4:42 left in the first quarter, capped by a two-point conversion pass from Matsen.

Senior safety Noah Behm made it 15-0 by blocking a punt and returning it 37 yards for a touchdown. Coach Behm said this play produced a big momentum swing. “I felt like after that we really got things rolling,” he said.

Senior running back Tani Vaki’s 3-yard touchdown run and a 3-yard touchdown catch by senior tight end Zach Cowie pushed the lead to 29-0 in the second quarter. Senior kicker Jace Worthington, perfect on all four extra-point tries, added a 42-yard field goal to send American Fork to the break up 32-0.

Junior wide receiver Cash Taiese hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Matsen early in the third quarter to make it 39-0, and junior running back Noah Braithwaite’s 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter closed out the scoring at 45-0 to end the game early.

Layton didn’t fold quietly. Sophomore quarterback Tillman Thomas found completions to receivers Carter Hughes and Denver Hicks and got work from running back Jake Strong, but the Lancers never turned a drive into points against a Caveman defense that had its way all night.

The American Fork defense forced three turnovers, which Behm called the difference-maker. “I thought our defense did a good job getting some turnovers in the first half,” he said.

Junior linebacker Ty Wilson recovered a fumble in the first quarter. Noah Behm added a second-quarter interception, and senior Nate Childs, playing safety, also made a pick for the third takeaway of the night.

The turnovers weren’t all one-sided. American Fork gave the ball away twice too, once on a fumble near the Layton 5-yard line, and again on a Matsen pass that Layton senior safety Kass Huntsman intercepted in Caveman territory.

The defense answered immediately, with Childs picking off a deflected pass on the very next play to hand the ball right back.

“We take pride in trying to take the ball away,” defensive coordinator Trevor Richins said. “Last week we were frustrated. We didn’t get any, so that was a big goal tonight.”

Defensive line coach Grant Pierce called senior Dalin Afu the anchor of a unit that kept Layton out of the end zone all night. “Dalin Afu leads us in practice every day,” Pierce said.

Pierce also highlighted freshman Scotty Bettis, who saw significant playing time at defensive tackle. “He’s strong. He works his butt off, so it’s going to be a good, bright future for the D-line at American Fork,” Pierce said.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Matsen ran the offense and connected on a 38-yard completion to Taiese in the second quarter that Layton linebacker Nate Wensel ran down before American Fork could cash it in.

“I think Jake played well at quarterback,” Behm said. “DC ran the ball very well, pretty clean. There’s still a couple penalties we need to clean up and some other things like that, but for the most part I feel like we played better than last week, which is what I want to say every Friday.”

Wide receivers coach Randan Manuela said the offense leans on moving Taiese around the formation to keep defenses guessing. “He does a great job. We move him all around.”

Manuela also credited senior Mason Brooks and junior Ty Holmstead for helping carry the passing game. “Christian is a big target with a big catch radius and everything underneath,” he said of senior tight end Christian Hanshaw.

American Fork’s backup quarterback, junior Tayt Webster, closed out the game in relief for the Cavemen mercy-rule finish.

Matsen completed 17-of-23 (74%) passes for 195 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Taiese and Hanshaw led the receivers with five catches for 73 yards apiece. Senior running back Carter Jorgenson was the leading rusher with eight carries for 38 yards.

Senior defensive back Hayden Reutzel was the leading tackler for the outing with four solo of five combined tackles. Senior defensive lineman Dalin Afu, senior linebacker Luke Vernon and senior defensive back Lincoln Miller each had four tackles in a game where many players were used.

The win keeps American Fork rolling after a 41-13 win over Farmington, a hard-fought 28-26 victory at Timpview and a 31-11 loss at Mater Dei of Santa Ana, California.

The Cavemen, No. 4 in the latest Utah 6A rankings, close out non-region play at Davis on Friday (Sept. 18) before opening region play at Lone Peak on Thursday, September 24.

“We’ve still got one more with Davis, a non-region game, next week, and that’s a big one,” Behm said. “You know, they’re the big team in Region One. … So I think if we continue to get better this week, next week we’ll be ready to go.”

Photos by Sam Penrod.