Although the Cottonwood Colts football team was dealt a serious blow after the second head coach resigned in two years, the last of which guided them to two straight victories, they hired Tui Satuala and galloped ahead. 

Cottonwood [0-10] had a rough season in terms of wins and losses, but the experience that this team got was invaluable according to Cottonwood Athletic Director Gregg Southwick. 

“We’ve put together an excellent coaching staff, one that ticks all the boxes,” said Southwick. Here’s how the season went for Cottonwood. 

Ogden 38, Cottonwood 3 [Aug. 16] 

At Cottonwood, early turnovers doomed the Colts to defend short fields as the Tigers raced out to a 38-0 start by halftime. The Colts only points of the game came when senior Parker Evans snapped through a field goal, his first points scored in his first-ever football game played. Senior Palmer Johansen paced the Colts with 71 yards rushing on 18 carries. 

Salem Hills 48, Cottonwood 10 [Aug. 23] 

At Salem, the Skyhawks took an early lead and never looked back. For Cottonwood, senior Parker Evans kicked his second field goal in as many games and Palmer Johansen scored his first rushing TD. Another bright spot for the Colts was senior quarterback Malcolm Mundy, who completed 10 of 20 for 129 yards passing, two of which went to senior Bo Smith for 30 yards receiving. 

Mountain View 41, Cottonwood 3 [Aug. 30] 

At Cottonwood, the Colts played the entire game without a running clock thanks to a 129-yard passing night from Mundy, who again completed half of his passes. In addition, the Colts got three points from Evans, who ran his kicking streak of field goals made to three games. Seniors Caleb Loveless-Delamora added four receptions for 31 yards and Korbin Lynch, 44.

Stansbury 62, Cottonwood 0 [Sept. 6] 

At Stansbury, the Colts were shut out for the first time all season in a rout. Mundy got picked off three times for the Colts despite throwing for a team-high 116 yards passing in a game that was the Region 10 opener. Junior Canyon Winter entered his name into the record books with a 4-yard reception for Cottonwood while Smith led the way with 82 yards receiving. 

Tooele 31, Cottonwood 14 [Sept. 13] 

At Cottonwood, the Colts fell in a tight home region opener. Tooele got out to a 17-0 lead, but the Colts struck back with a Mundy-to-Smith 44-yard TD pass with just 1:29 left before halftime. Mundy was also huge on the ground for the Colts, who gave up two quick third quarter scores before getting a touchdown back in the dying moments from Johansen on a 1-yard rush. 

Jordan 40, Cottonwood 17 

At Cottonwood, the Beetdiggers stormed out to a 9-3 advantage by the half, and a 31-0 lead after three quarters. In the fourth, after Jordan scored a safety, Smith would cap a short drive with a 1-yard TD reception and then Johansen would score with 1:45 left in the game to make up the difference for Cottonwood, who fell to 0-5 with the loss. The Colts would lose 63-0 the following week at Park City to drop to 0-6 on the year. 

Uintah 42, Cottonwood 13 [October 4] 

At Cottonwood, the visiting Utes took a 42-0 lead before the Colts were able to answer back with a 42-yard field goal from Evans. The senior, who had never played the sport of football before this season, would blast a 50-yarder late in the fourth quarter. The Colts would then strike big on a 50-yard pass from Mundy to Smith with 1:54 remaining. 

Hillcrest 24, Cottonwood 7 [Oct. 9] 

At Cottonwood, the crosstown rivalry gave the Colts their tightest game all season. Cottonwood got on the board first with a 15-yard-strike from Mundy to Smith, but the Huskies made the short trip over the I-215 bridge to Murray and scored the game’s final 24 points, avenging Cottonwood’s win last year at Hillcrest. 

Murray 58, Cottonwood 20 [Oct. 16] 

At Murray, the Colts played arguably their best game of the year when they answered two early Spartans scores with a Mundy-to-Smith connection to trim their deficit to seven, 14-7 with six minutes left before the half. Unfortunately, the Spartans would reel off 21 unanswered points over the final five minutes of the first half to go in with a 35-7 lead. Late in the game, Mundy would find Smith two more times for TDs, giving the two seniors memories that will last a lifetime. 

For the season, Mundy completed 59 of 116 for 1,394 yards passing and had seven touchdowns—10 in his two years at Cottonwood. He also ran for 102 yards. On the ground, Johansen finished his three years of varsity action with 592 yards rushing and five TDs. In the air, Smith showed why he’s a two-sport star, gathering 35 receptions for 780 yards and seven touchdowns.