Crimson Tide Commit Caps Off Senior Season with State Title Win

3-Star quarterback Tayden Kaawa led Orem High School to a dominant win this week, securing the school's tenth state championship, and first since 2020.

2026 4-Star QB Tayden Kaawa | Credit @tay.1.1 on Instagram

As the end of the calendar year approaches, high school football across the country is drawing to a close, and in some states, it has already ended. This week saw the Utah 5A state playoffs reach their final stage, giving one Crimson Tide commit a chance to lead his team to an illustrious state title victory.

3-Star quarterback Tayden Kaawa and the Orem Tigers took on Springville High School in the state championship on Thursday, November 20, and left no doubt as to who the best team in the division was, winning 42-7.

Kaawa threw an early touchdown that put his team up 14-0 in the first quarter before allowing his defense, special teams and run game to do the rest. Orem scored an 80-yard pick six to go up 21-0, and then took the opening kick of the second half back for a touchdown to make the game a four touchdown difference.

From there, the Tigers' offense relied on the ground game, breaking off two more long rushing touchdowns that truly put the game out of reach. Springville was able to piece together an impressive third quarter drive, capped off by 50-yard touchdown pass, but it was not enough as Kaawa and the Orem Tigers were simply too much.

On top of the state title win, the 3-Star signal caller led his team to an 8-2 regular season record, and was absolutely sensational in doing so. In the 13 games leading up to the state title, Kaawa threw for over 2,500 yards with 34 touchdowns to just eight interceptions.

He completed 60 percent of his passes, and even added a bit on the ground, finishing with 249 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries.

Kaawa is a massive, 6-foot-5, 235 lb quarterback with a big time arm that can make nearly any throw on the field. While he may need to clean some things up in terms of his accuracy, the Utah native has a very impressive skill set that could thrive in a Kalen DeBoer offense.

He committed to the Crimson Tide in July of this year, becoming the second signal caller of the class alongside Jett Thomalla who committed a month earlier.

While the future of Alabama's quarterback room looks to be at least somewhat secure moving forward with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, the transfer portal is always looming, so locking down talent at the most important position on the field is a smart move for DeBoer and the staff.