Highland High erased the memory of last season's 48-7 loss to Viewmont with a 45-30 victory Friday, Aug. 28, at Highland High School in Salt Lake City.

The game was Highland's first home contest of the 2026 season.

"Viewmont is a tough team, well-coached and they beat us up pretty good last year, and the boys remembered that," head coach Kautai Olevao told the Deseret News. "It was also our first home game of the season, and I thought we did a great job after we got some jitters out."

Viewmont struck first. Vikings quarterback Brett Tovey connected with Austin Cannon on a 16-yard touchdown pass, and Logan Campbell added the extra point. Highland answered with a fourth-and-three call near midfield on the Rams' own side of the field. Bauman kept the ball and powered ahead for the first down. Two plays later, he launched a 48-yard touchdown pass to King Boyd. Willem Miles hit the extra point to tie it 7-7 after one quarter.

Bauman rushed in from five yards out to put Highland ahead in the second quarter. Tovey and Cannon connected again to knot the score at 14-14 with 2:25 left before halftime.

Highland shifted to a hurry-up offense and ran double-digit plays before Vili Ripley punched in a five-yard rushing touchdown with eight seconds on the clock. The Rams carried a 21-14 lead into the break.

Highland pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Viewmont 10-2 to build a 31-16 cushion. Linebacker James Yeates contributed a tackle for loss and a combined sack to keep the Vikings' offense off balance.

Olevao said his coaching staff had challenged the team to sustain its intensity for a full four quarters after inconsistent second halves in the first two games, a 42-21 Week 1 loss to Westlake and a 36-14 Week 2 win over Hunter. He called the result a good win for the program heading into region play.

Highland opens region play at home against Cottonwood on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m.