Lehi Sports
Pioneer football outplays Knights on their home turf for impressive victory
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School football team overcame a rocky start at Lone Peak on Thursday (Oct. 9) to take over the game for good early in the second quarter. The Pioneers went on to upset the Knights 34-6 on their Senior Night.
The Lehi defense achieved the unheard-of feat of holding Lone Peak out of the endzone at home while the offense scored 34 unanswered points after the host school boarded two field goals. It was just the second victory for the Pioneers over the Knights in 12 tries.
The first win came just two years ago in 2023, when Lehi earned a 10-point victory. This time the margin was four touchdowns, the second-largest gap in any Region 3 contest to date this season.
In their initial possession, the Pioneers drove all the way to the Lone Peak 19-yard line only to turn the ball over on downs.
After the Knights were forced to punt, they managed to knock the ball loose on a Lehi rushing play and recovered the fumble at the Pioneer 42. After twice fumbling and recovering the ball inside the red zone, Lone Peak had to settle for a 31-yard field goal with 3:52 left in the period.
Lehi’s next possession was a short one and the Knights got great field position off the short punt, once again at the Pioneer 42.
On fourth-and-4 in the first series, Lehi senior defensive back Murphy Madsen made a pick for a big return, but it was wiped out by a roughing-the-passer penalty which also gave the host team an automatic first down.
This time Lone Peak reached the 6-yard line, but after a pair of incomplete passes to the endzone, the Knights elected to kick the 23-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 10:56 left in the half.
They were never allowed another point, and the Pioneers wasted no time in responding. On the kickoff after the score, senior defensive back Trey Fabrizio received the ball and then tossed it to senior wide receiver Legend Glasker on the reverse.
He electrified the Lehi crowd by sprinting 94 yards for a touchdown, making some great pivots to avoid would-be tacklers. Senior kicker Bode Hammond converted the PAT and the Pioneers grabbed the lead at 7-6 with 10:43 still to play in the second quarter. They never gave it back.
The next Lone Peak possession ended in a punt after a big sack by senior defensive end Penisimani Takitaki.
Senior quarterback Wyatt Bingham moved the ball down the field with key catches by junior wide receiver Cam Wren, senior wide receiver Jaxton Laddimore and Glasker, interspersed with rushes by senior running back Devaughn Eka, who also made a reception during this stretch.
The drive eventually stalled however, and Hammond booted a 47-yard field goal to move the advantage to 10-6 with 3:28 still on the clock.
Seconds later, senior linebacker Vince Evans intercepted an errant Knight pass and returned it to the 4-yard line. Senior Briggs Love rumbled into the endzone from there to increase his team’s advantage to 17-6 with 3:13 left to the break.
Fabrizio set up the final score of the half with another pick, and Hammond split the uprights with two seconds left to give the Pioneers a 20-6 lead to carry to the locker room.
Lehi sustained a drive early in the third period and it culminated in a slick reverse from Eka to Glasker for the 20-yard score with 4:56 on the third-quarter clock.
Early in the final period, a big sack brought on a Pioneer punt but the ball was fumbled by the receiver and covered by freshman Haloa Makaio near midfield. This time Bingham took it over himself from nine yards out to complete Lehi’s tally at 3:46 with 8:23 to go.
“We’ve talked a lot about how talented a team we are, but we’re not very good if we don’t play like a team,” said Coach Andy Hadfield. “The boys are excited and they’re buying into the reality that it takes all 11 of us who are playing at any given point in a game to win.
“Playing together is the recipe for success,” the coach continued. “I was pleased with all three facets of the game tonight. The defense did a great job stopping third-down conversions.
“Offensively we moved the ball well and kept our quarterback in the pocket so he could get the ball to the receivers,” Hadfield said.
“The defense was keeping them off the board. When they got behind, they pressed a little bit and our defense made them pay. It’s a blessing to have a defense that plays like that. This group is special,” the coach went on.
“The offense did what it needed to do too,” he said. “They held the ball, moved the chains and did what they needed to do to score.
“We’re playing well on both sides of the ball,” Hadfield said. “Our motto this year is “locked in.” The players are paying attention and are coming to understand that football is a team sport, not a me sport.
“It’s fun to see them be able to dominate a football game like that,” the coach added. “We’ve prepared hard for six straight weeks against really good opponents, and we are learning to give it everything we’ve got.”
The Pioneers (6-3, 2-1) will finish the regular season on Wednesday (Oct. 15) as they host Corner Canyon (7-1, 2-1) at 7 p.m. The Chargers are ranked No. 1 in Utah and No. 34 in the nation.
