Mountain Ridge pulls past Davis for 3-0 start to 2026 high school football season

HERRIMAN — Mountain Ridge defensive coordinator Jackson Peck borrowed the same motto to describe his defense as first-year University of Utah head coach Morgan Scalley: relentless, smart, nasty ballhawks.

Scalley would’ve been proud of the Sentinels on Thursday night.

Easton Stubbs had three tackles, two pass breakups, an interception and recovered a fumble, as Mountain Ridge sprinted to a 35-0 jump through three quarters to improve to 3-0 with a 42-7 win over Davis.

The Sentinels (3-0) were steady on offense, with Bradley Foster rushing for two touchdowns and Jaxon Hunt connecting with Jordan Classenn, Xander Thayer and Marshall West for scores.

But the hosts wrecked havoc on defense, forcing two turnovers and a goal-line stand on fourth-and-three midway through the second quarter en route to a 21-0 halftime advantage to never look back.

“That’s just an adrenaline rush, everything feels good. But especially to get a stop on fourth down like that — that’s just as good as a turnover,” Stubbs said.

One year after starting 1-2 under then-first-year head coach Nick Robins before finishing 10-3 with a loss to Corner Canyon in the 6A state semifinals, the Sentinels are 3-0 with wins over Skyridge and Lehi in addition to Thursday night’s overwhelming victory over Davis and Bode Sparrow.

The four-star Oklahoma commit caught a 40-yard TD pass from Brodie Scheinberg to score the lone touchdown for Davis (1-2) and break the seal on Mountain Ridge’s shutout — the first touchdown allowed since the 9:47 mark of the fourth quarter in a 41-26 win over Skyridge in the season opener.

“I can’t say enough about Coach Peck, our defensive coordinator,” said Robins, who laughed when he had to pull the defense off the field at halftime because so many players were watching film on the sideline monitor. “He’s really instilled a culture of physicality and killing the motor; when we tackle people, they’re not finishing forward. We’re just always driving them back.

“Those kids really take it to heart,” he added. “They’ve bought into the system, and I can’t say enough good things about our defense. Davis has some dudes — but our guys really played well.”

It’s early, but the the Sentinels are 3-0 for the first time in four years and have looked the part of 6A title contenders. Picked to finish second to Herriman in Region 2 by league coaches, Mountain Ridge’s Oct. 2 home date against the crosstown rivals can already be circled on the calendar.

The Sentinels’ job? Keep doing what they’ve been doing.

“We’re trying to go undefeated,” said Stubbs, a senior. “We want a state championship. We had a lot of playmakers come in, and this is a special group. I think this is the best team Mountain Ridge has ever had.”

Mountain Ridge will host Cedar Valley in a Region 2 opener next Friday, while Davis will travel to Alta.