Utah County High School Player of the Week – Week 4
Sep 10, 2024, 12:20 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Mr. Mac Utah County High School Player of the Week is awarded each week to the top prep football players in Utah County. Sponsored by Mr. Mac, it honors athletes for their performances on the gridiron and exceptional play. Our co-winners this week were quarterbacks Mckay Smith from Spanish Fork High School and Tayden Ka’awa from Orem High School.
Utah County Players of the Week – Mckay Smith, QB (Spanish Fork) & Tayden Ka’awa, QB (Orem)
Mckay Smith and the Dons hosted Uintah High School for both teams’ Region 8 opener Thursday night. The Dons utilized a balanced offensive attack as they took 14-0 lead after the opening frame. After the Utes halved Spanish Fork’s lead in the second quarter, Smith completed his hat trick of touchdowns to Brock Jacobson. Spanish Fork would take a 35-14 into the halftime break.
The Dons would take an insurmountable lead in the third quarter. Smith completed his fifth and final touchdown pass to Bronson Kaulali. Spanish Fork would then add two more touchdowns on the ground as they saw out a 56-26 victory over Uintah. The Dons improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in region play while dropping the Utes from the ranks of the unbeatens. Smith finished the game completing 13-of-21 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns.
Tayden Ka’awa and the Orem Tigers made the trek to Salt Lake County last Friday to take on West Jordan High School. The Tigers were hot from the start, piling up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Ka’awa connected with Kaue Akana on the first of his eventual four touchdowns on the night. West Jordan struck back in the second quarter, cutting the lead 10 points of their own. However, Ka’awa & Akana hooked up again for a second touchdown to take a healthy 28-10 lead into the locker room.
Orem ran away in the third quarter with Ka’awa accounting for three more touchdowns. He connected with Kai Wesley and Feleti Iongi on touchdown passes while also adding a one-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 49-10. He then was lifted from the game as the Tigers saw out a 56-17 victory over the Jaguars. That win improved Orem’s record to 4-0 on the season. Tayden Ka’awa was 17/24 passing with 335 yards in the contest.
Find out who was selected for the Utah County High School Player of the Week!
Presented by @mrmacsuitshttps://t.co/Y2wJdEhl4m
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 3, 2024
Player of the Week Selection
The selection committee for the Mr. Mac Utah County Player of the Week consists of Jeremiah Jensen and Sam Farnsworth from KSL Sports Live, Dane Stewart from KSL Sports Rewind and Jake Hatch. Jake is the Executive Producer for the KSL Sports Zone. He also hosts a daily BYU-centric podcast called Locked On Cougars. Jake attended Brigham Young University and is a proud native of Orem, UT. He is an alumnus of Mountain View High School, where he was part of the Bruins football program as an offensive and defensive lineman from 2001-04.
