Ever since Hudson Malmrose became Bountiful High’s starting quarterback, he has been comparing his accomplishments to his older brother, Boston, who started under center for the Redhawks in 2019 and 2020.
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Hudson can still recall his sibling’s best games and statistics, but his own effort Wednesday was likely his best achievement so far, as he threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns as Bountiful overwhelmed Olympus 35-0 and claimed the Region 6 championship.
“It was a good win for us. Winning region has been our goal since the start of the season, and you don’t just win like this against Olympus,” said coach Jason Freckleton, whose team won all five of its region games after splitting its first four nonregion contests.
“We’re playing our best ball now when it counts.”
Freckleton hopes the impressive victory will move his team as high as the fourth seed in the upcoming 5A state playoffs, which begin next week.
Not only will he have his senior quarterback at his best, but his entire team as well, which recorded its second straight shutout and outscored its region opponents by an average of 31-10.
Olympus, which came in with three straight wins and could have forced a three-way tie for first place in Region 6 had the outcome gone differently, never had a chance.
The Titans didn’t allow Bountiful’s running attack any big plays, but they couldn’t pressure Malmrose and that gave him a chance to find open receivers downfield.
“He certainly had a nice spin on it (the ball) tonight,” Freckleton said. “We have some receivers with some speed. We thought they could get open, and Hud put the ball where he needed.”
Malmrose entered the game having completed over 60% of his passes and averaging over 16 yards per completion. After a slow start, he showed why he could potentially be the region’s MVP when he connected with Mason Tidwell on scoring passes of 29 and 44 yards as the Redhawks rolled to a 28-0 lead.
“It was all my (offensive) line,” he said. “They gave me the time.”
And it was the Bountiful defense that provided the opportunities. The Redhawks limited Olympus to just under 50 total yards and only one real scoring chance.
In the Titans’ five first-half possessions, three resulted in three-and-outs. On their third possession, quarterback Preston Ferran engineered a decent drive that got to the Bountiful 11-yard line, but a sack and two straight incompletions forced a field goal, and Henry O’Neil’s 33-yard try was blocked.
Bountiful scored six plays later and never lost the momentum. The Redhawks even recovered an onside kick.
In all, Malmrose completed 11 of 16 passes without an interception. Another long pass — again to Tidwell — set up Bountiful’s final touchdown, and the ensuing 35-0 lead forced a running clock as both teams emptied their benches, which led to miscues, plenty of penalties and ended Olympus’ senior night game earlier than expected.
Both Bountiful and Olympus will make the postseason, of course. The Redhawks will likely earn a first-round bye, while the Titans’ fortunes will be determined over the weekend.
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