Orem's no huddle takes toll on Maple Mountain

This post is long overdue and I apologize. This past Wednesday night I went to the Maple Mountain vs. Orem Tiger game at Orem High School. Maple Mountain rolled into the stadium with a one loss record and a heart bounding victory over Timpanogos the previous week. Orem had three losses coming in the contest but was looking to honor their senior class on their last home game of the regular season.

The Tigers did strike first on a 25-yard score to take an early 6-0 lead. The score was the beginning of a great night for Orem quarterback Taylor Camp; it was the first of three touchdowns through the air on the night.

Maple Mountain showed why they had such a great record coming into the ball game by responding on the ensuing drive and converting their PAT to take a 7-6 lead.

That's when the winds turned both figuratively and literally. As the winds began to bluster Orem's offense began to take control of the game using the no huddle to keep the Eagles off balance and giving their defense a plenty of rest. Part way through the quarter the Tigers pounded the ball in from a yard out to regain the lead 12-7.

This was the first of three straight scores for the Tigers to close out the first half with a 25-7 lead.

In the third quarter both defenses took care of business and shut there opponents out in the quarter.

The fourth quarter was another story as the offenses found there grooves with Maple Mountain striking first on a touchdown pass to make the score 25-13.

Orem responded quickly with a 35-yard touchdown pass to go up 32-13. K.J. Hall, the fearless quarterback of Maple Mountain, refused to roll over and broke a 45-yard touchdown run to make it a 32-19 game.

When Orem got the ball back they decided to slow things down a bit and chew clock. The strategy was working. The Eagle defesne had been worn down for three quarters with the relentless no-huddle offense of the Tigers. Orem was looking to put the game out of reach when this play happened.

 Maple Mountain had the ball and offense that had put two scores on the board during the quarter. However the comeback was not to be as the turnover bug that had hasseled them through out the game struck again in a very big way.

That pick six salted away the game for Orem and made the score 39-19 which held until the final gun sounded.


Honorable Mention for Player of the Game: Tyler Valdez, WR, Orem. Tyler lead the way for a great performance from the Tiger wide outs. He gets the nod for two long touchdown catches.

Play of the Game: Isaiah Fiso's interception return for a touchdown to me was the play of the game. Orem had managed to keep Maple Mountain down but had failed to put them out. This came at a key moment too. The Tigers had driven down the field and coughed up the ball to the Eagles in the end zone giving them a chance to really get back in the ball game. That is when Isaiah made the play of the game to seal the win for the home team.

Player of the Game: Taylor Camp, QB, Orem.

Taylor simply had a great game. Three scores through the air and added a fourth on the ground. He kept the Tigers high speed offense humming for most of the game; which kept the ever dangerous K.J. Hall on the sideline. I'm impressed by him in how well he ran the no huddle there are pro quarterbacks who struggle with it (Tony Romo). Great job by young Mr. Camp helping his team pick up a big win.

Random Thoughts: Why in the world did Orem's coach go for two on his first three touchdowns? I thought that maybe his kicker was horrible but he was good on the kick off and then he barely missed a long (by high school standards) field goal. I think the only reason he missed it was the strong winds that kicked up in the second pushed the kick wide. He than made all three PAT's after that.You may not think three points matters but coming back from 25-7 is easier than 28-7. Three TD's get you a lead instead of a tie. Lucky for Orem it did not matter in the end. Maybe the kid was being punished but it looked to me to be something that could cost them in the playoffs against a superior team.... I do think Orem is the better team, but I don't think they are 20 points better. Maple Mountain shot itself in the foot on more then one occasion with penalties and turnovers. You can't give this good of an offense more chances and shorter fields to work with.... Now that I picked on Orem's coach how about I dish on Maple Mountain's head man. Orem has been running the no huddle all year long. This wasn't an early season game, it was the ninth contest of the year. His defense looked unprepared and poorly conditioned. That is forgivable, to a degree, early in the year but this late you should be in shape and you know what your opponent is going to do. Get ready for it.... That being said I can't help but wonder if the Eagles were suffering a hangover of sorts after the nail biting win the previous week.... This week I will be watching the Spanish Fork Dons take on the Payson Lions to close out the regular season.

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