Lehi Sports
Pioneers blitz Layton to advance
The No. 4 Lehi High School football team took care of business on Friday (Nov. 1) by rolling over No. 13 Layton 47-6 to advance to the quarterfinals of the state 6A tournament. The Pioneers scored 37 points in the first half and held the visitors to one late touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Lehi defense was so dominant that the Lancers got a lot of their offensive yards off of penalties. The score would have been even more lopsided had a couple of touchdowns not been called back by flags.
The Lancers took the ball first and managed to get a first down by faking a punt, but they were stuffed after that, and the Pioneers took over on their own 20 after a punt.
On the first play of the possession, senior quarterback Jett Niupitched the ball to junior running back Devaughn Eka, who handed off to senior Mays Madsen on the reverse. He turned the corner on the right side and sprinted 70 yards before he was finally brought down.
Three plays later, Eka waltzed in for the touchdown from one yard out and senior kicker Gavin Fenn added the PAT to give Lehi a 7-0 advantage at the 7:59 mark and the Pioneers never looked back.
Layton went a quick 3-and-out and Lehi fair-caught the punt at their own 46. On first down, Niu connected with junior wide receiver Legend Glasker for nearly 50 yards. Eka then scored a second touchdown on a 5-yard carry to push the margin to 14-0 with 6:31 still left in the initial period.
After the subsequent series ended in a punt downed at the Lehi 1-yard line, Eka burst up the middle for 12 yards to move the Pioneers from being backed up on their own goal line. Two plays later, Glasker received the ball and took it 81 yards to the house for a 21-0 lead with a minute left in the quarter.
In the second period, Lehi’s next possession got bogged down with penalties and ended with a 56-yard field goal by Fenn. During the next Layton drive, two pick-sixes were negated by penalties, but the second one did result in a turnover at the 45-yard line.
A toss to senior wide receiver Kyler Barger picked up 15 yards for a first down. Eka then added a 37-yard receiving touchdown to his tally for the night with 3:17 left to the break.
The Lancers got some help from penalties on their next possession, but they eventually had to punt away again and the Pioneers got the ball back on their own 23.
Niu then hit Madsen for a 47-yard pickup and a personal foul added on pushed the ball to the 15-yard line. Eka carried for 12 yards the next play, and then Madsen finished the drive with a 3-yard TD catch. There was a bad snap on the PAT and an improvised pass failed, so the score stood at 37-0.
That brought the running clock into play for the entire second half. In the third quarter, senior defensive end Fuapauna Mama returned a fumble 45 yards for the next touchdown.
Fenn later added a 25-yard field goal to complete Lehi’s tally for the night, a play that was set up by junior defensive back Gavin Smith’s interception. Layton put six points on the board in the fourth period but was not able to convert the two-point try.
For more details and photos from this contest, check out the Nov. 7 issue of the Lehi Free Press.
The Pioneers (8-2) now move on to the quarterfinals. They will host No. 12 American Fork (5-6) on Friday (Nov. 8). The Cavemen upset No. 5 Farmington (5-6) to earn a return trip to Lehi. The default kickoff time is 6 p.m. but will likely be moved to an earlier start.
