Prep football: Fremont staves off hungry Syracuse offense for 6th straight win
Titans gamble in 4th quarter; Tuatagaloa talks team growth
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- Fremont defenders Brant Koford (49) and Jak Masters (32) celebrate a defensive stop against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont receiver Salesi Moa, left, hauls in a pass against the defense of Syracuse’s Taysum Nacario on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse receiver AJ DeHorney runs the football against Fremont on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Cade Hadley (15) fights a Syracuse tackler on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont’s Slade Parker (2) goes down on a tackle by Syracuse’s Sullivyn Vedaa, behind Parker, on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse players, from left, Tanner Merrill, Burke Rountree, Ledger Wight and Mulivai Pula celebrate a touchdown against Fremont on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa (5) eyes a pass with Zach Masters in the foreground in a game against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight scrambles with the ball against Fremont on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont receiver Slade Parker celebrates a touchdown against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse lineman Sullivyn Vedaa (54) leads his team onto the field at Fremont on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse player Kaleb Hall (28) tackles Fremont receiver Salesi Moa (8) on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight looks to pass against Fremont on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
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- Fremont captains Manase Tuatagaloa (5) John Suka (4), Topiese Lelenoa (55) and Nash Bailey (21) walk to midfield for the coin toss against Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Sometimes football widdles down to special teams, and Fremont’s 28-18 win over Region 1 foe Syracuse was another example of that truth Friday night at Moyes Field.
So when the Silverwolves (6-2, 3-0 Region 1) did their job on that particular unit against the visiting Titans (4-4, 1-2), it was only appropriate for quarterback Manase Tuatagaloa to do his part with his team clinging to a one-score lead and four minutes to go.
The Ben Lomond transfer fed Fremont’s run game with Owen Simkins throughout the night and saw an opportunity to throw off a desperately hungry Syracuse defense.
“They were biting the run every time,” Tuatagaloa said. “I pulled it, then I went around and saw my one-on-one so I took it.”
The decision paid off, adding another score to the board for Fremont and with it the program’s sixth consecutive win since opening the season 0-2.
Tuatagaloa, who’s undoubtedly made his presence known within Region 1 alongside father and Silverwolves head coach Nate Tuatagaloa, said the last six weeks have been a transformative experience.
“It’s just been us believing in the progress our coaches put in for us,” Tuatagaloa said. “We’re just connecting as a team and becoming one team with how we love each other as brothers. That’s what has helped us.”
It’s needless to say, however, that Fremont had its hands full with Syracuse’s promising sophomore Ledger Wight. The Titans’ signal caller threw for two more touchdowns Friday after delivering 238 yards through the air last week at Weber.
Syracuse, receiving the opening kickoff, didn’t open the ballgame with much gas but Sullivyn Vedaa brought the heat the Titans needed by blocking a Fremont punt, positioning Wight for a 30-yard touchdown pass to Burke Rountree late in the first quarter.
Jace Hadley caught a short screen pass from Tuatagaloa to begin the Silverwolves’ second drive but fumbled away the football near the FHS 19-yard line with 1:46 left in the first quarter. Up against the wall, Fremont’s defense prevailed on fourth-and-goal to generate a turnover of their own, albeit deep into their side.
Converting two fourth downs, Tuatagaloa completed four passes en route to a 21-yard score brought down by Slade Parker with 5:26 left in the half.
Nash Bailey added his name to Fremont’s list of playmakers, sacking Wight on third-and-10 to force a punt. Two punts later and Syracuse’s Easton Choate pin the Silverwolves deep inside their 1-yard line.
Choate came up big before the break, nailing a 35-yard free kick after the Titans’ defense forced Fremont to punt from inside its end zone with 17 seconds remaining and caught the ball with a fair catch. It gave Syracuse a 10-7 halftime lead.
That particular rare play was the brainchild of Syracuse assistant Josh Kealamakia, a college kicker who played alongside head coach Mitch Tulane at Weber State until 2015.
“I’ve got a lot of guys on staff that’s wiser than me and kind of coached me on that whole idea,” Tulane said. “(Kealamakia) and the other coaches on the staff said ‘Hey, let’s think about a free kick here.'”
Opening the second half with a stop, Syracuse seemingly looked bound for the end zone with Ryker Van Komen charging his way to first-and-goal but a costly delay-of-game penalty resulted in Fremont’s Jak Masters and Krew Hassell blocking a fourth-down field goal attempt.
With more than seven minutes left in the third quarter, Tuatagaloa took full advantage of the takeaway and completed three consecutive first-down passes and found Cade Hadley for a rewarding 15-yard touchdown pass, putting Fremont ahead 14-10.
Syracuse found itself driving again to begin the fourth quarter. An incomplete Wight throw drew fourth-and-12 inside the Fremont 20-yard line, with Tulane electing for a fake field goal attempt that sent Choate dashing well shy of the sticks.
“We like that fake. Typically, we practice as an extra-point fake,” Tulane said. “We didn’t know if we could get all 12 of them but, in hindsight, we wish we would have (kicked).”
Jace Hadley pulled in a huge chunk of yardage for the Silverwolves after the stop, with Zach Masters doing the scoring honors with a short touchdown catch, putting Fremont ahead 21-10 with 8:29 left.
Syracuse wasted little time, finding its way down the field via Wight’s arm and striking back on an 18-yard touchdown pass hauled in by Rountree. With some trickery sliding Rountree under center, the Titans completed a two-point try to pull within a score of Fremont (21-18) with four minutes still to go.
A couple of plays into the consequent drive, Tuatagaloa and Parker connected for a huge gain near Syracuse’s 30-yard line. Grinding the clock to 1:31, Tuatagaloa took business into his own hands with his 15-yard touchdown dash.
The score effectively locked in the win for Fremont despite a somewhat lengthy drive by Syracuse that resulted in a regulation-ending Wight incompletion.
Fremont prepares for its last home regular-season date against rival Weber on Thursday, Oct. 10. Syracuse welcomes in Layton that same day, hoping to break its two-game losing skid.
BOX SCORE
Syracuse 7 3 0 8 — 18
Fremont 0 7 7 14 — 28
SCORING LOG
FIRST QUARTER
2:24 – Syracuse touchdown: Rountree 30-yard pass from Wight. PAT good. (SHS 7, FHS 0)
SECOND QUARTER
5:26 – Fremont touchdown: Parker 21-yard pass from Tuatagaola. PAT good. (FHS 7, SHS 7)
0:11 – Syracuse field goal: Choate 35-yard free kick (SHS 10, FHS 7)
THIRD QUARTER
4:50 – Fremont touchdown: Cade Hadley 15-yard pass from Tuatagaloa. PAT good. (FHS 14, SHS 10)
FOURTH QUARTER
8:29 – Fremont touchdown: Zach Masters 2-yard pass from Tuatagaloa. PAT good. (FHS 21, SHS 10)
4:07 – Syracuse touchdown: Rountree 18-yard pass from Wight. Two-point try good. (FHS 21, SHS 18)
1:13 — Fremont touchdown: Tuatagaloa 15-yard run. PAT good. (FHS 28, SHS 18)
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
