6A football playoffs: Fremont pushes back late to stop Syracuse, advance
Hadley, Simkins find key fourth-quarter touchdowns
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- Fremont’s Cade Hadley (15) tries to break free from Syracuse’s Taysum Nacario, center left, as Syracuse defenders Xander Garcia (11) and Kaleb Hall (28) give pursuit in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight (4) throws as Fremont’s Nash Bailey (21) arrives with pressure in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont tight end Zach Masters (6) picks up a gain as Syracuse’s Madden Nelson, center, tries to break free from Fremont’s John Suka (4) in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont tacklers Brant Koford, center left, and Salesi Moa (8) crunch Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight, center, in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont players Jace Hadley, left, and Cade Hadley celebrate a touchdown against Syracuse in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse High’s Ryker Van Komen celebrates a touchdown against Fremont in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse High’s Kaleb Hall, left, tackles Fremont’s Zach Master in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse receiver Cohen Godderidge hauls in a pass against Fremont in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse High’s Tanner Merrill, right, goes down on the tackle of Fremont’s Triston Mann (12) in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse receiver AJ DeHorney surveys the field as he runs the football against Fremont in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse High’s Ledger Wight runs the football against Fremont in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight throws the football against Fremont in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa throws the football against Syracuse in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Jace Hadley runs with the football in a 6A second-round playoff game against Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse High’s Ryker Van Komen (1) carries the football against Fremont’s Slade Parker, left, in a 6A second-round playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Backfield struggles evaporated from No. 6 Fremont’s offense just in time for a late, 28-20 bounceback victory to take down region rival and No. 11 seed Syracuse in the second round of the 6A state playoffs Friday at Moyes Stadium.
The Silverwolves (8-3) utilized two quarterbacks, junior Manase Tuatagola and sophomore Calvin Cooper (2 TD, INT), in both halves in search of solutions for a Syracuse (5-6, 2-4) defense that disrupted Fremont’s first-half game plan.
Trailing by seven with less than 10 minutes left, the Silverwolves generated a game-saving turnover and wasted little time finding paydirt when it counted most.
Fremont junior Cade Hadley produced two of those fateful scores, later expressing just how high the bar was for his team when the fourth quarter rolled around.
“The intensity’s a lot higher,” Hadley said. “We knew we had to come out harder and we did a good job finishing the game tonight.”
Syracuse, winning the coin toss and deferring possession to the second half, put together a pair of quality stops to begin the ballgame. Ledger Wight found senior Burke Rountree for a 42-yard chunk into Fremont territory and later picked up a pass interference call against Fremont that allowed for a short field goal from senior Easton Choate.
Tuatagaloa completed just his second first-down throw, an 11-yard gain by senior John Suka, to begin the Silverwolves’ next drive but the offense ended up punting away as the first quarter came to a close.
Wight and junior Ryker Van Komen led the Titans back into the red zone and a wide-open Van Komen cradled a short Wight pass for a touchdown to improve Syracuse’s advantage to 10-0.
With 7:44 left in the first half to mount a response, Fremont looked to Cooper to replace Tuatagloa at quarterback.
Cooper completed five passes during his debut drive, ending with a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior Jace Hadley and cutting the deficit to 10-7. Gaining steam, Fremont picked up another break shortly into the subsequent Syracuse drive when Krew Hassell hopped on a ball dropped by AJ DeHorney near midfield.
The turnover gave the Silverwolves a chance to take the lead before halftime, but Cooper registered his first interception on a throw near the end zone, picked off by junior Kolin White inside the Titans’ 5-yard line.
Reflecting on Cooper’s first-half performance, Cade Hadley said watching the young backup get reps late in the season is motivating.
“He came in huge for us,” Cade Hadley said. “He came in, threw a touchdown and looked like a veteran out there. You’d never know he’s a sophomore.”
At halftime, Cade Hadley said the Silverwolves simply tweaked a couple of things along the offensive line and were set to trust their backfield in the second half.
Returning from the locker room, Wight and the Titans were grooving again. Tanner Merrill hauled in a first-down in Fremont territory, but a short pass on third-and-5 forced the Titans to settle for another field goal. Choate made his 34-yarder for a 13-7 lead with 8:36 left in the third quarter.
Tuatagloa returned under center but the Silverwolves punted after a holding penalty canceled a would-be first down.
Fremont quickly picked up a stop on Syracuse’s next drive and Cade Hadley cooked up first-down opportunities out of the backfield. The junior scored a 13-yard touchdown carry to even the score 13-13 when Syracuse’s Sullivyn Vedaa blocked the PAT.
With 36 seconds left in the third quarter, Wight launched the Titans downfield with his legs and later scored on a 1-yard rush to give Syracuse a 20-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.
After throwing two dead balls, Tuatagaloa connected with junior Slade Parker for a 22-yard spark into Syracuse territory. A pass interference call against the Titans and Owen Simkins’ sturdy shoulders on a 1-yard TD provided an eight-point answer, featuring a successful two-point Tuatagaloa dash, to put Fremont ahead 21-20 with six minutes left.
Fremont then put down a high-stakes decision with an onside kick and it yielded a decisive payout. Junior Cam Graves dove on the football to set the Silverwolves’ offense back up near midfield, which quickly turned into a 32-yard Cade Hadley touchdown run.
Syracuse, trailing Fremont 28-20 with little over four minutes left, had two late chances to tackle Fremont’s lead. With a good return, the Titans strung together yardage leading to a big Wight run, but one that resulted in a fumble forced by Fremont senior Orion Patten and recovered by teammate Bubba Koford near the Fremont 22-yard line.
Welcoming a needed defensive stop, the Titans regained possession with two minutes to go. But a pair of incomplete passes drew a fourth-and-4 rush blown up by Koford and a pack of Silverwolves to force the game’s final turnover.
“He’s a competitor trying to get every last yard for his team that he can,” Syracuse head coach Mitch Tulane said. “They did a great job getting the ball out.”
Tulane’s first season as Syracuse’s head coach comes to an end at 5-6 overall.
With his first playoff win, Nate Tuatagaloa and his Silverwolves continue the postseason with a Nov. 8 quarterfinal, taking a trip to No. 3 Lone Peak (9-2) who blanked No. 14 Herriman 24-0.
BOX SCORE
Fremont 0 7 6 15 – 28
Syracuse 3 7 3 7 – 20
FIRST QUARTER
2:44 – Syracuse field goal: Choate 20 yards (SHS 3, FHS 0)
SECOND QUARTER
7:44 – Syracuse touchdown: Van Komen 6-yard pass from Wight. PAT good. (SHS 10, FHS 0)
3:21 – Fremont touchdown: J. Hadley 30-yard pass from Cooper. PAT good. (SHS 10, FHS 7)
THIRD QUARTER
8:36 – Syracuse touchdown: Choate 34 yards (SHS 13, FHS 7)
1:21 – Fremont touchdown: C. Hadley 15-yard run. PAT no good. (FHS 13, SHS 13)
FOURTH QUARTER
9:54 – Syracuse touchdown: Wight 1-yard run. PAT good. (SHS 20, FHS 13)
6:02 – Fremont touchdown: Simkins 1-yard run. Two-point attempt good. (FHS 21, SHS 20)
4:13 – Fremont touchdown: C. Hadley 32-yard run. PAT good. (FHS 28, SHS 20)
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
