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Herriman • When Herriman lost to 5A powers Brighton and Bingham to start the season, it might have been easy to write off the Mustangs.
That would be a mistake, especially considering Herriman was competitive in both those games.
The Mustangs won their fifth straight game and improved to 3-0 in Region Four with impressive 21-7 win over Pleasant Grove on a cloudy night in Herriman.
"I don't think we are flying under the radar," said Herriman coach Dustin Pearce. "We are playing good football. Our best games are still to come. We are coming together the way we should."
The Mustangs have a reputation as a run-oriented team but, on this night, they took advantage of some big first-half passes by quarterback Hayden Reynolds.
On a night when all the scoring was done in the first half, Reynolds tossed 4-yard scoring passes to Peniamina Mobley and David Fotu to give Herriman all the points it needed.
"My offensive line gave me a lot of time," said Reynolds. "People doubted our passing game at Riverton. We wanted to show we could pass the ball, so we did."
Herriman lost a fumble on the game's first series inside the Pleasant Grove 5, but came right back to take a 7-0 lead. An interception by the Vikings' Jacob Doman set up a 41-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Hamilton to Dayne Christiansen to tie it.
But Herriman used a fourth-down conversion to take the lead with 5:48 to play in the second quarter on Reynolds' second scoring pass. Strasters scored with 14.8 seconds left in the half to provide the winning margin.
The Mustangs had two touchdowns off intercepted passes called back on penalties in the second half, but used their defense to frustrate the Vikings, who fell to 1-2 in league play and 3-4 overall.
"It was a very, very physical game," said Pearce. "Both teams played well. It's a gauntlet down here. Week in and week out, we play physical football. We turned the ball over a couple of times and that hurt. PG missed a couple of opportunities."
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
P Hayden Reynolds throws two four-yard TD passes to lead Herriman to its fifth straight win.
• Isaac Hamilton connects with Dayne Christiansen on 41-yard scoring play for Pleasant Grove's only touchdown.
• Herriman's Kaden Strasters scores the final points of the game on 3-yard run near end of first half.