Mt. Ridge football starts the season off with a win
Aug 16, 2021 02:52PM ● By Justin Adams
The Sentinel defense celebrates after returning an Olympus fumble for a touchdown. (Justin Adams/The City Journals)
By Justin Adams | [email protected]
The Mountain Ridge High School football team started its season off with a 37-19 victory over Olympus on Friday night.
The Sentinels scored a touchdown in every phase of the game - offense, defense and special teams - starting with an opening kickoff returned for a touchdown by senior running back Cade Uluave.
"It felt great. It felt good to start the game off with a bang. It kind of set the tone for the whole game and gave us that momentum," Uluave said.
"Setting the tone from the opening kickoff, that was huge. Credit to our guys for coming out and being ready to go," added head coach Mike Meifu.
Following an Olympus touchdown that tied the game, the Mountain Ridge offense drove down the field but stalled in the red zone. That resulted in the fist ever field goal attempt for place kicker Brady Laga, a soccer player who only joined the team earlier last week.
"He's a soccer player - never kicked a football before. But he came out on Monday and learned how to put on a helmet and shoulder pads," Meifu said.
Not only did Laga make his first field goal attempt, but he was a perfect 3/3 in the game, including an impressive 48-yarder that sailed through the uprights as time expired in the first half.
"Pretty clutch for a kicker that's never kicked in a game before. It was very impressive," Meifu said.
The defense also shined in the first half, as they forced and recovered fumbles on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. The first of which was returned for a touchdown by Tommy Lewis.
"Our defense, they've been solid and locked in all week. They just stuck together and made the adjustments," Meifu said.
On offense, quarterback Ayden Helm connected early and often with wideout Jordan Day. Uluave also added two rushing touchdowns in the second half.
Up next for the Sentinels is a home match against Granger, who lost to American Fork 60-0 in their opening game.
Check out more photos from the game on the Herriman Journal Instagram page.
The Mountain Ridge High School football team started its season off with a 37-19 victory over Olympus on Friday night.
The Sentinels scored a touchdown in every phase of the game - offense, defense and special teams - starting with an opening kickoff returned for a touchdown by senior running back Cade Uluave.
"It felt great. It felt good to start the game off with a bang. It kind of set the tone for the whole game and gave us that momentum," Uluave said.
"Setting the tone from the opening kickoff, that was huge. Credit to our guys for coming out and being ready to go," added head coach Mike Meifu.
Following an Olympus touchdown that tied the game, the Mountain Ridge offense drove down the field but stalled in the red zone. That resulted in the fist ever field goal attempt for place kicker Brady Laga, a soccer player who only joined the team earlier last week.
"He's a soccer player - never kicked a football before. But he came out on Monday and learned how to put on a helmet and shoulder pads," Meifu said.
Not only did Laga make his first field goal attempt, but he was a perfect 3/3 in the game, including an impressive 48-yarder that sailed through the uprights as time expired in the first half.
"Pretty clutch for a kicker that's never kicked in a game before. It was very impressive," Meifu said.
The defense also shined in the first half, as they forced and recovered fumbles on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. The first of which was returned for a touchdown by Tommy Lewis.
"Our defense, they've been solid and locked in all week. They just stuck together and made the adjustments," Meifu said.
On offense, quarterback Ayden Helm connected early and often with wideout Jordan Day. Uluave also added two rushing touchdowns in the second half.
Up next for the Sentinels is a home match against Granger, who lost to American Fork 60-0 in their opening game.
Check out more photos from the game on the Herriman Journal Instagram page.
