Prep football: Weber offense stalls, Fremont inches one game closer to Region 1 glory
Silverwolves run away 35-21 in region home finale
-
- Fremont senior Owen Simkins (20) charges into a defender during a game vs. Weber Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Fremont junior Salesi Moa (8) raises the ball in celebration after returning an interception for a touchdown vs. Weber Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Weber senior Crew Cacciacarne (1) signals the snap during a game vs. Fremont Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Fremont junior Manase Tuatagaloa (5) awaits the snap during a game vs. Weber Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Weber captains Tyler Payne (9), Crew Cacciacarne (1), Dyson Parker (11), and Ian Elmore (4) walk onto the field for the coin toss before a game vs. Fremont Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Fremont head football coach Nate Tuatagaloa looks on from the sideline during a game vs. Weber Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- Weber head football coach Mo Cannon joins his team at midfield before a game vs. Fremont Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
-
- The Fremont football team takes a moment during the national anthem before a home game vs. Weber Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Plain City.
PLAIN CITY — Salesi Moa’s pick-six on the game’s opening drive was a warning sign that Thursday’s battle between Region 1 hopefuls Fremont and Weber would be anything but ordinary for the big crowd that descended on Moyes Stadium.
It would become the first of multiple takeaways by the Silverwolves that fueled a 35-21 romp over the Warriors in Fremont’s seventh consecutive victory as the regular season comes down to its final week.
The win positions Fremont (7-2, 4-0 Region 1) in a de facto Region 1 championship game at Farmington (4-5, 3-1) next after the Phoenix defeated Davis 28-20 on Thursday night. Seven weeks of winning comes down to one final regular-season contest for the Silverwolves.
“We’re not surprised where we’re at,” Fremont head coach Nate Tuatagaloa said. “When we lost to Roy my exact words were, ‘Five weeks from now, we’ll be a different team.'”
Cacciacarne took just two snaps before watching his first pass of the night disrupted by Moa, the player who caught TDs for Cacciacarne last year as a Warrior. Moa carried in his team’s first score of the evening bright and early, but Fremont’s offense struggled to ride that lightning for the next 11 minutes.
Two stops by the Weber (5-4, 1-3) defense, including a big-time sack by Tyler Payne to force the Silverwolves’ first punt of the night, paid off when Dyson Parker — reeling in a long ball near the goal line — punched in a short Weber touchdown rush exiting the first quarter.
A 3-plus minute drive to begin the second quarter saw Fremont strike gold on a 30-plus yard connection between Tuatagaloa and Zach Masters, setting the Silverwolves up in the red zone. A short Tuatagaloa scamper set up a quick punch by Owen Simkins for six.
Weber couldn’t translate a Fremont penalty and first-down Parker run to their 43-yard line onto the scoreboard, punting away deep into Fremont territory with more than six minutes to go in the half. Payne delivered his second sack of the game on the next series, helping get the ball back in Cacciacarne’s hands with a chance to iron things out.
Now Fremont’s defense needed an answer. In addition to his ground duties, Simkins proved his role as a pass defender, breaking up a would-be first down inside Silverwolves’ territory. Asked about his role in the game plan this week, Simkins said he approached the Warriors like he would an exam.
“Just kept watching the film, picking up what the D-line does and trusting my line,” Simkins said.
One play later, Bubba Koford ripped away a Cacciacarne pass and placed Fremont at the Weber 35-yard line. Tuatagaloa followed the takeaway with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Masters for a 21-7 lead with little more than a minute to go.
Fremont nearly added another big defensive takeaway soon after the score when a string of penalties revoked what would have been a pick-six by senior Kaeden Posell — flipping the field with Weber retaining possession clear up to the Fremont 40-yard line.
Warming up a bit, Cacciacarne found a familiar target in Parker for a first down and Ian Elmore a play later for a 20-yard touchdown pass with just 29 seconds left in the half.
To catch Fremont off their toes, Weber attempted an onside kick but ended up setting the Silverwolves up comfortably at their 43-yard line.
Moa made a first-down catch at the Weber 17-yard line with 17 seconds left in the half, priming the odds for another Fremont score before the break. But the Silverwolves wore the clock too thin and, with 0.5 seconds left on the scoreboard clock, halftime was called — by rule, there must be 1.0 or more seconds on the clock to continue.
After the teams traded stops to open the second half, Manase Tuatagaloa completed two first-down throws to Cade Hadley and drove Fremont up the field. Simkins added his second rushing touchdown to emphasize the 7-plus minute drive.
Asked about Simkins’s role in the backfield, Nate Tuatagaloa recalled his first impressions of the senior running back during preseason workouts. The Fremont coach rightly predicted Simkins would take an increasing stake in the Fremont attack.
“That kid is just slippery,” Nate Tuatagaloa said. “He can read lanes and just hits it hard. He’s one of those kids that in the summer when we saw him run and do the things he did, we were like, ‘Holy hell, how is he not there?'” The combo of him and (Hadley) has been a wonder for us.”
Simkins added his third and final tally to the board with a 70-yard touchdown on a short toss from Tuatagola as the third quarter expired.
Weber, down 35-14 to begin the fourth quarter, managed an answer late in the frame — a 23-yard connection between Caccicarne and Elmore — but it was hardly enough to overcome two more dead drives in the fourth quarter.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Fremont heads to Farmington for the Region 1 decider and Weber looks to break its two-loss spell at Layton.
BOX SCORE
Weber 7 7 0 7 – 21
Fremont 7 14 14 0 – 35
SCORING LOG
FIRST QUARTER
10:18 – Fremont touchdown: Moa 28-yard interception return. PAT good. (FHS 7, WHS 0)
0:35 – Weber touchdown: Parker 1-yard run. PAT good. (WHS 7, FHS 7)
SECOND QUARTER
8:49 – Fremont touchdown: Simkins 1-yard run. PAT good. (FHS 14, WHS 7)
1:25 – Fremont touchdown: Z. Masters 20-yard pass from Tuatagaloa. PAT good. (FHS 21, WHS 7)
0:29 – Weber touchdown: Elmore 20-yard pass from Cacciacarne. PAT good. (FHS 21, WHS 14)
THIRD QUARTER
1:26 – Fremont touchdown: Simkins 7-yard run. PAT good. (FHS 28, WHS 14)
0:00 – Fremont touchdown: Simkins 70-yard catch and run. PAT good. (FHS 35, WHS 14)
FOURTH QUARTER
1:14 — Weber touchdown: Elmore 23-yard pass from Cacciacarne. PAT good (FHS 35, WHS 21)
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
