Salt Lake County High School Player of the Week – Week 13
Nov 15, 2024, 1:41 PM | Updated: Dec 12, 2024, 2:54 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Hercules Salt Lake County High School Player of the Week is celebrating the best high school football player in Salt Lake County. Presented by Hercules First Federal Credit Union, each week we honor athletes for their exceptional performance on the gridiron. Our co-winners this week representing Brighton High School are Mason Haertel and Dax Matheson
Salt Lake County Player of the Week – Mason Haertel, RB & Dax Matheson, DB (Brighton)
The Brighton Bengals took on Olympus Titans in the 5A quarterfinals with both schools hoping to advance to the semifinals. The matchup featured the strength of both teams’ defenses. Olympus drew first blood towards the end of the first quarter and that proved to be the only points in the first half. Matheson led the Bengals’ strong defensive effort with seven total tackles and two interceptions.
After the Titans went up 14-0 in the third quarter, things looked bleak for Brighton. That’s when Haertel and the Bengals woke up offensively in the fourth quarter. After Beau Le Fleur scored on a two-yard touchdown run, Haertel’s efforts were rewarded with a four-yard rushing TD of his own to even the game at 14-all.
Brighton’s final drive of the night saw Thomas Sorensen send them through to the semifinals. He made a 33-yard field goal with no time remaining to complete the comeback in a 17-14 win. Haertel finished the game leading the team with 118 rushing yards and the game-tying touchdown.
Player of the Week Selection
The selection committee for the Hercules Salt Lake 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.
