Lehi Sports
Pioneer football blitzed by Chargers
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School football team failed to match Corner Canyon’s ferocity in the final game of the regular season on Wednesday (Oct. 15), and the Pioneers fell to the Chargers 56-3 to end Region 3 play in third place at 2-2 with a 6-4 overall record.
This game was the exception rather than the rule for Lehi as their other three losses this season came by one, two and four points. The game started out competitively but it was a night when small mistakes added up to big outcomes for the visitors.
The Chargers didn’t get their first score, which came on a 16-yard run, until about halfway through the first quarter.
The Pioneers immediately responded. After a couple of short plays, senior quarterback Wyatt Bingham connected with senior wide receiver Legend Glasker for a 49-yard pickup, which brought the ball to the Corner Canyon 37-yard line.
One rush by Bingham and two by senior running back Devaughn Eka yielded the next first down at the 26. Bingham then tossed to senior tight end Bryton Niu, who appeared to get the ball across the endline but was ruled down at the 1-yard mark.
The Chargers put up a stiff defense to keep Lehi out of the endzone and the Pioneers had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by senior kicker Bode Hammond to narrow the margin to 3-7 with 1:44 left in the period.
It was all downhill for Lehi after that. Corner Canyon scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter and would have had a fourth if it weren’t for a goal-line deflection by senior defensive back Gavin Smith followed by an interception from senior linebacker Vince Evans.
In addition, the Pioneers lost their starting quarterback and their secondary leader, senior defensive back Murph Madsen, about a minute apart to injury before the break and missed another scoring opportunity as well.
The Chargers continued to pile on the points in the second half and although Lehi still made some good plays, there weren’t enough of them to make an appreciable impact on the game.
“We hate to lose like that, but it is what it is,” said Coach Andy Hadfield. “Our only choice is to learn from it and move forward. That’s a tough team to play on two days of practice, especially after five weeks of games against really good opponents.
“We had to put some players in less familiar positions,” Hadfield said. “Briggs (Jensen, junior quarterback) came in and did what he does well. The interceptions were not his fault. We missed some assignments and made other mistakes, but these are correctable errors.
“When it came right down to it, they were hungrier than we were,” the coach added. “They came in with a chip on their shoulders wanting to prove that the loss to Lone Peak was a fluke.
“Now everyone starts at 0-0 to begin the playoffs,” he continued. “I still think the team’s in a good spot. We’ll get back to work and go over the basics and build on that again.
“We’ll hit the reset button, erase the negative and go chase our goals once more,” Hadfield concluded.
The football playoff brackets will be released tomorrow morning (Oct. 18).
