North Sanpete blanks Cottonwood in season opener

MT. PLEASANT—The North Sanpete Hawks opened their 2026 football season with dominance, shutting down Cottonwood 57-0 on Friday, Aug. 14 at home.

The Hawks scored five times in the first quarter and added three more touchdowns before the UHSAA’s 44-point mercy rule ended the game at the end of the third quarter. Trexon Madsen got North Sanpete on the board with a 13-yard touchdown run with 9:04 left in the first quarter. A safety followed less than a minute later, and Chaetton Osborne added an 18-yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining.

Luke Lee connected with Seth Burningham on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:51 left in the quarter before Trevor Mann broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:18 remaining.

North Sanpete continued to pull away in the second quarter, as Lee found Jesse Nuttall for a 68-yard touchdown with 10:32 left. That score was followed by a 1-yard Burningham touchdown run at the 8:33 mark. Korver Hafen added a 20-yard touchdown run with 3:53 remaining in the half.

Drake Johansen scored on a 4-yard run with 7:47 left in the third quarter to complete the scoring.

Mann led the Hawks’ rushing attack with 157 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. Hafen carried 22 times and Johansen had 17 carries, with each scoring once.

Madsen finished with a touchdown on 13 carries, while Osborne scored on three carries. Burningham scored twice, once rushing and once receiving.

Lee threw two touchdown passes, including the 68-yard strike to Nuttall and the 25-yard pass to Burningham.

Gunner Pollock converted six extra points for North Sanpete, while Chayton Whaley added one.

The Hawks (1-0) will be on the road next week as they face Deseret Peak (0-1) in Tooele.