4A high school football preview: Mountain View at Spanish Fork

Mountain View (5-5) at Spanish Fork (6-3)

4A state tournament first round

Friday, 4 p.m.

Parry's Power Guide: Spanish Fork by 5

All-time series: Mountain View leads 8-7

Coach vs. Coach: Spanish Fork's Matt Christensen leads Mountain View's Jon Snyder, 1-0

Last meeting: Aug. 20, 2010 — Spanish Fork 30, Mountain View 13

It is a maddening turn of events for Spanish Fork.

The Dons were numbered among the top defensive teams in 4A for a large chunk of the season. Through its first seven games, Spanish Fork held all but one opponent to 13 points or fewer.

In their last two games, though, the Dons yielded 35 points to Springville and 34 to Maple Mountain.

Spanish Fork coach Matt Christensen knows such a trend cannot continue when his team faces Mountain View in the first round of the 4A playoffs on Friday.

"Hopefully, we've learned we got to put it together," Christensen said. "We'll have signs of greatness at times and times where we struggle a bit. Hopefully, we can pick some things up and do a better job."

The good thing for the Dons is that their offense has been a model of consistency and a source of strength since Week 1.

Senior quarterback Hayden Nielsen has done a good job of picking apart defenses from week to week. So far, Nielsen has thrown for 1,597 yards and 19 touchdowns. His accuracy has been a boon to Spanish Fork too. The senior has thrown just three interceptions and has completed nearly 64 percent of his passes.

If that wasn't enough, Nielsen can run when the occasion calls for it. He has run for 420 yards and five touchdowns on 87 carries. It helps take pressure off of explosive lead back P.J. Inoke, who has churned out 785 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 95 carries.

Christensen knows the offense is in good hands as long as Nielsen is at the controls.

"He's athletic, smart and coachable," Christensen said. "You put those together and you have a pretty good little quarterback."

The Dons will need to be at the top of their game on both sides of the ball to slow down a hot Mountain View team that has won five straight to rebound from an 0-5 start.