OGDEN — The long, storied history book that chronicles Ogden High football got another significant note added to it Friday night.

The Tigers beat Union 42-7 to open 3A North region play, leading 34-0 at halftime and finishing the game with a running clock.

That makes Ogden 5-0 for the first time since 2009.

“It’s hard to tell what a team’s gonna be like when you have so many sophomores playing with seniors. Our seniors have done a really good job at accepting them and creating a really good atmosphere on the team,” Ogden coach Erik Thompson said. “And I think we’re better than we’d thought we’d be, so it’s fun.”

By about the halfway point of the first quarter, starting 5-0 was hardly in doubt.

The Tigers (5-0, 1-0 3A North) scored on their first drive with a quarterback plunge by Vinnie Apodaca, then Truman VanOrden intercepted a fake punt on the next possession.

They didn’t score on that drive despite starting at the Union 20-yard line, but after Ryan Kirkland blocked a Union punt on the next series, the Tigers got the ball at the Union 6. Cy Arnold ran in for a touchdown on the first play for a 14-0 lead, the first of his three rushing scores in the game.

Arnold bagged his second TD of the game for a 21-0 lead, then Apodaca and sophomore receiver Synic Harvey brought the fireworks.

Harvey got open down the right side and Apodaca hit him in stride for a 62-yard touchdown pass on the first play of a second-quarter drive.

On the Tigers’ next drive, Harvey again got open, this time in the middle, and came down with a 25-yard TD in the end zone. Halftime score: 34-0.

Harvey was wearing Aaron Boehm’s No. 0 jersey instead of his normal No. 5 — his No. 5 jersey tore on the first kickoff of the game — and there was zero chance of the defense stopping him.

“I think the key tonight, just execute. Come out, put the ball down their throat and just keep running it, and if they stop the run, then we pass. And you saw that tonight,” said Harvey, who had more than 100 total yards between receiving and kick returns, according to unofficial stats.

Arnold’s third touchdown run, followed by a nice fade from Apodaca to Blake Weston — he also had an interception — for a two-point conversion, made it 42-7 in the third quarter to start a running clock.

Defensively, Ogden was stellar apart from allowing a 45-yard touchdown run on a fourth down early in the third.

Harvey took the opening kickoff to midfield and, until about the 11:00 mark in the second quarter, the ball stayed in the Union half of the field thanks to the VanOrden interception and the Kirkland blocked punt.

When the Cougars finally crossed midfield, on a 23-yard pass play coupled with a late hit penalty, Weston soon had his interception.

Ogden is guaranteed a .500 or better season for the first time since 2020, as it has four regular-season games and at least one playoff game left.

The last time the Tigers started 6-0? 1966. They’ll try to hit that mark next week at Grantsville, which is considered one of the favorites in both the 3A North region and the 3A classification.