Lehi Sports
Skyridge football dominates Westlake in R3 opener
The Skyridge football team easily won their first Region 3 contest on the road at Westlake 48-10 on Friday (Sept. 15). The Falcons are now 6-0 on the season.
The game started with a defensive struggle for the Falcons as Westlake scored the opening touchdown of the game. However, Skyridge took control in the second quarter by scoring 27 unanswered points.
Senior quarterback Jackson Stevens gave a stellar performance throwing seven touchdown passes during the game, with three touchdown receptions to senior receiver Jack Burke. Stevens finished 19-of-35 for 351 yards with the seven scores and one pick.
Senior receiver Colby Smith opened the scoring with the first Falcon touchdown of the game on a 29-yard catch late in the first quarter. The energized Falcons dominated the second quarter with four touchdowns.
Burke scored early with an eight-yard catch, followed by senior receiver Trevan McClellan on a 30-yard catch and run into the endzone. Senior running back Carter Sheffield then took a screen pass 49 yards to the house with Burke completing the scoring for the first half with a 7-yard reception.
The second half of the game saw Burke and McClellan each adding a touchdown reception to round out the scoring for the Falcons. McClellan made seven catches for 147 yards and Burke collected six for 70 yards. Sheffield rushed 15 times for 139 yards.
The Skyridge defense only gave up 10 points for the game and registered five sacks. Junior linebacker Deshawn Toilolo andjunior defensive lineman Iakopo Malufau combined to keep the pressure on the Westlake quarterback.
Senior linebacker Jackson Fenton led in tackles with eight including four solo and also caused and recovered a fumble.Senior defensive back Fotu Moea’i had seven combined tackles.Overall, the Falcon defense was impressive throughout most of the game.
McClellan said, “We put in the preparation time this week, we spent a lot of time in the film room, especially our trips look. We could tell where Westlake was at tonight by how they lined up.
“I have a lot of faith in our quarterback, I just ran to the open spots tonight and was able to connect with him successfully,” he continued. “The O-line really balled out this game and I’m proud of the team effort.”
“We had some players go down this week and they were not able to play this game,” said Burke. “I was given a bigger role tonight and I didn’t want to let the team down. I took the opportunity to play hard and do my thing.
“The offense is looking strong, our QB is looking so good, he threw seven TDs tonight. The offense is really rolling and moving the ball well,” Burke added.
Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm said, “Region 3 play has begun, so we need to come prepared and ready to go for every game. Tonight was no exception. We started off slow and didn’t play how we wanted to, but the team settled in and then executed at a high level.
“The offensive line did a great job tonight, we saw great things from them up front,” he went on. “Whether it was an odd front 3-4 with the backers walked up or going to an even look, I thought they did a really good job communicating and handling any front that they saw.
“The D-line also created constant pressure on Westake’squarterback. The guys played well tonight,” he added.
Skyridge will put their winning streak on the line as they visitintra-city rival Lehi on Friday (Sept. 22) at 7 p.m.
