Lehi Sports
Lehi defense leads out in quarterfinal win over Cavemen
A superlative effort by the Pioneer defense overcame four turnovers and other offensive miscues as the No. 4 Lehi High School football team eliminated No. 12 American Fork on Friday (Nov. 8) 28-7 to earn a berth in the semifinals of the 6A state tournament.
Despite intercepting Lehi senior quarterback Jett Niu three times in the first half, the Cavemen were unable to convert on even one series during the entire first quarter and only had one first down until the final 36 seconds of the half.
The visitors got the ball first and started with a 3-and-out. However, American Fork quickly got it right back by picking Niu but only gained four yards in the ensuing first series and had to punt.
The subsequent Pioneer drive ended in a missed field goal. After two more ball exchanges, Lehi finally put something together and Niu hit junior running back Devaughn Eka for a 36-yard score at the 9:07 mark of the second quarter. The PAT conversion by senior kicker Gavin Fenn made it 7-0.
Late in the half, the Pioneers doubled their advantage on an 8-yard pass play from Niu to junior wide receiver Legend Glaskerwith 36 seconds remaining.
The Cavemen responded after the break with a 4-yard connection between senior quarterback David Gaisford and senior wide receiver Cade Wilkinson at the 6:15 mark of the third quarter.
However, that was all they would get. Their next two possessions were ended by Lehi interceptions by senior defensive back Ozzie Williams and junior defensive back Murphy Madsen, who ran his back to the AF 2-yard line.
An Eka score on first down was called back on a penalty, but he went in untouched from seven yards out on the retry to bump up the lead to 21-7 with 29 seconds to go in the period.
After yet another Caveman drive was frustrated by the relentless Pioneer defense, Niu found senior wide receiver Mays Madsenfor a 35-yard touchdown toss and Fenn’s PAT completed the tally for the evening with 9:52 to play.
After Lehi fumbled the ball away on the next drive, junior defensive end Penisimani Takitaki sacked the American Fork quarterback three times in a row, punctuating an outstanding overall performance by the entire Pioneer defensive unit.
For more details and photos from this contest, check out the Nov. 14 issue of the Lehi Free Press.
The Pioneers (9-2) now move on to the semifinals at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. They will face off against No. 1 Corner Canyon (11-1) on Thursday (Nov. 14) at 11 a.m. The Chargers defeated No. 9 Weber (7-5) 59-34 to earn their ticket north.
