High school football: 5 intriguing flashback results from Week 1

The 2024 high school football season is officially underway and opening night has already provided storylines to dissect.
Here are some intriguing game results from Week 1:
As highlighted in the preseason 10 storylines to watch story, San Juan was on the brink of making history this season by recording the most consecutive wins in state history. Corner Canyon and Duchesne are tied for the all-time state record, each recording 48 straight wins.
The Broncos entered Friday night with a 37-game winning streak which stretched back to the 2021 season, where San Juan lost its season opener to Desert Hills. A third-straight undefeated season for the Broncos would have set a new record for consecutive wins. However, Grantsville made sure it came to an end.
For the first time in 1,100 days, San Juan suffered a loss.
Despite the loss of its winning streak, San Juan did not go down without a fight. Grantsville led by as much as 30-12 at the end of the third quarter, but the Broncos rallied back in the fourth quarter to a 30-30 tie behind a trio of touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return and a 60-yard pick-six.
With 3:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Grantsville’s Jayden Atkinson ran into the end zone to shut the door on San Juan’s potential 38th straight win. Atkinson ended Friday night’s win with 248 rushing yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns. Cowboys quarterback Dallen Van Vliet recorded four touchdowns and 244 yards on a 57% completion percentage.
While its chances for the consecutive win record are dashed, San Juan can still rise to fourth on the all-time consecutive championships list with its fourth straight championship this year.
The Logan Grizzlies have a lot going against them this season.
The Grizzlies struggled during the 2023 season, as seen in its 0-8 record against fellow 4A opponents. Logan also welcomed its third head coach in three years this season, and in this year’s Region 11 preseason preview, Logan was also voted to finish last in the region.
Logan head coach Nate Butts took on the task of trying to steer his young team in the right direction. The preconceived notions didn’t seem to bother the Grizzlies on opening night as they took down the Hillcrest Huskies in a tight 30-27 road win.
The Grizzlies started the game hot with a safety and back-to-back finds from sophomore quarterback Easton Favero to Reed Olsen for a quick 17-0 lead. Logan’s youth started to show after its lead, though.
Huskies’ quarterback K’Von Houston answered with three consecutive touchdown passes of his own and a rushing touchdown with only 1:20 left in the game.
While Logan scored early in the fourth, it suddenly found itself in a 23-27 deficit with under a minute left. Once again, sophomore quarterback Favero found Nate McAllister with 31 seconds left to seal the 30-27 Logan win.
A road win on opening night was exactly what a young Logan team — welcoming a new head coach, starting a sophomore quarterback and coming off a 2-8 season — needed.
Olympus is no pushover in 5A.
In 2023, the Titans pushed eventual 5A champion Timpview to the brink in the semifinals but fell just short in a tight 20-22 loss. Olympus looked to have a strong reload this year as they welcomed back head coach Brandon Burt and 13 starters from the 2023 season.
While Olympus was dueling Timpview in the 5A semifinals, the Spanish Fork Dons were sent home from the 4A postseason after losing their first-round matchup against Bear River.
This year, Olympus was scheduled to host Spanish Fork on opening night and the Titans were heavy favorites.
Unfortunately for the Titans, Spanish Fork scored 17 in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind victory.
It was the Dons who struck first with a 50-yard interception return from Jacob Johnson in the first quarter. However, Olympus’ defense locked in and held Spanish Fork scoreless through the third quarter, where it built a 7-13 lead.
The Dons and the Titans went back and forth, but it was Olympus who held a 20-10 lead with under five minutes remaining.
After scoring only 10 points in the opening 44 minutes, Spanish Fork exploded for 14 points in the final four minutes to seal the 24-20 upset win.
The Alta Hawks are among the 31 teams across the state that welcomed a new head coach for the 2024 season with Blake Burdette taking over. Alta is coming off a successful season where it held a 10-4 record and just narrowly missed out on the 5A championship game with a 20-19 loss against Bountiful in the 5A semifinals.
Unfortunately for Burdette, the Hawks only returned two offensive starters and three defensive starters from its semifinal squad.
Things did not look good for Alta as it got stunned by 3A’s Juan Diego in the first half of Friday’s opening night game. The Hawks’ defense struggled to contain Juan Diego as it surged to a 24-7 first-half lead, which was capped off by a 75-yard touchdown reception thrown by Hayden Mezenen and caught by Braylon Fail.
Whatever Burdette said to his team in the locker room during halftime seemed to do the trick, as Alta came out of the tunnel looking like a new team.
The Hawks’ defense finally kept the Soaring Eagles scoreless throughout the third, while Alta quarterback Tucker Brown tallied three touchdown passes in the quarter to flip the score 28-24 in Alta’s favor.
Juan Diego’s offense broke through with 3:59 remaining in the fourth, but a touchdown pass from Brown to Matt McKea just three minutes later sealed the comeback victory for Alta.
2022 6A champion and 2023 6A runner-up Skyridge and 2023 5A champion Timpview was scheduled as the lone Thursday night game, which kicked off the 2024 high school football season.
The Falcons and the Thunderbirds have something in common: They both had to move on from their all-state quarterbacks from last season.
Outside of Isaac Wilson, Skyridge’s senior quarterback Jackson Stevens had a strong argument to be considered the best quarterback in 6A last season. Timpview also lost last year’s quarterback, with 5A Player of the Year Helaman Casuga transferring to Corner Canyon.
Skyridge is relying on sophomore quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne to step up, while Timpview welcomed previous Pleasant Grove quarterback Carson Rasmussen.
Despite the changes, Skyridge found a strong 29-14 first-half lead. The running game was the Falcons’ strong suit to start, with three of its four first-half touchdowns being rushing touchdowns, including a 99-yard kickoff return from Tavian Edwards.
However, Timpview’s defense seemed to catch on and held Skyridge scoreless in the second half, and its defense fueled the offense with a fumble return for a touchdown from Kennan Pula.
The Thunderbirds’ offense kept marching but they still trailed 27-29 with less than 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Timpview had a chance with the ball on the 1-yard line.
For the second time, Rasmussen found Jaron Pula for the game-winning touchdown and Timpview showed the state that they are still a top force in Utah high school football.