After One Month Layoff, No. 9 Orem Will Wrap Up Regular Season Against No. 18 Lehi

OREM, Utah – It’s been over a month since the ninth ranked Orem Tigers have played a football game.

That will change on Wednesday night when they will wrap up the regular season at home against No. 18 Lehi in Region 7 action in the Game Night Live Game of the Week.

Orem has played just five games and are 3-2 on the season. Their wins came against Mountain View, East and Alta while their losses were against Skyridge and Lone Peak. The Tigers last played a game on Friday, September 11 versus Lone Peak.

Despite the Tigers coaching staff asking teams all around the state to play them, they didn’t get any teams willing to do so.

Lehi is 5-3 on the year after a three-point win over Alta two weeks ago. These two teams met in 2019 in the final regular season game. The Pioneers picked up a 24-21 win at home.

⭐After a season of adversity, join the #GameNightLive crew for one last showdown between @OremTigerFball and @LehiFootball⭐

Wednesday at 7 with @TomCantHackett and @JJSportsBeat on the KSL TV app (@ksl5tv) #KSLGameNight pic.twitter.com/guF4ajcjlQ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 13, 2020

Orem Tigers

Since 2015, the Tigers have made great strides and are now one of the premier programs in the state of Utah. In 2015, Orem went 4-6 and missed the playoffs. The following season, the Tigers had a 5-7 record. They reached the playoffs after beating Corner Canyon in the Region 7 Play-In game but lost in the first round to Springville.

2017 was a completely different season and started an impressive run for Orem. They went 12-2, including winners of their last 10 games to win the 4A State Championship over Mountain Crest. In 2018, the Tigers had the same 12-2 record and the same 10-game winning streak which ended the season in beating Dixie for their second straight 4A title.

Last season, Orem held a 10-4 record, won their last 5 games and took the 5A State Championship with a victory over Timpview.

Now, the Tigers are starting a new era after head coach Jeremy Hill stepped down earlier this season. Hill was at the helm through the three state titles.

Micah Fe’a is the starting quarterback for the Tigers. Through 5 games, Fe’a has thrown for 544 yards, 8 touchdowns and one interception. None of their running backs have rushed over 100 yards this season but Joe Smith and Tauhi Tupola each have found the end zone twice on the ground. Through the air, Smith has caught 9 passes for 133 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Lehi Pioneers

Like Orem, Lehi has experienced the same trajectory in their program over the last five years. They went 3-7 in 2015 before reaching the postseason in the 2016 season after a 8-4 record. The Pioneers lost to Bingham in the 5A quarterfinals. In 2017, Lehi went 12-2 on the year and won their last 10 games to win the 5A State Championship against Skyridge.

In 2018, Lehi struggled but reached the playoffs with a 5-6 record. They lost to Jordan in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, they 10-4 before losing to Timpview in the 5A semifinals.

This season, Creyton Cooper is the starting quarterback. His brother was the starter on the 2017 state championship team. Cammon Cooper is currently a redshirt sophomore at Washington State and currently competing for the starting job in Pullman.

Creyton has passed for 1,204 yards, 7 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Takeshi Faupula is their leading rusher with 390 yards and 4 touchdowns. Chandler Jenkins has the most rushing TD’s for the Pioneers with 6. Grady Gonzalez is their leading receiver with 32 catches for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, Isaac Terrell has 8 sacks to lead the Pioneers. Tristan Royce, Holden Hughes and Bode Hinckley each have two interceptions on the season.

The Region 7 clash between Orem and Lehi will take place on Wednesday, October 14 at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on sports.ksl.com and the KSL TV app.