Lehi Sports
Pioneer football upends unbeaten Mustangs on their field
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School football team rode a fast start to a spectacular 22-20 upset of previously-undefeated and No. 3 Herriman on the road on Friday (Sept. 25).
The Mustangs took the ball first and made a runback to their own 20-yard line. After a short ground gain on first down, they were backed up by a false start penalty and then a bad snap flew over the quarterback’s head and into the end zone for a safety just seconds into the contest.
The Pioneers downed the subsequent free kick at their own 37 to start their initial possession.
Senior quarterback Briggs Jensen looked as sharp as he has all season marching the team down the field with key completions to senior wide receiver Kyson Butterfield, junior running back Cam Bryce, senior wide receiver Cam Wren and senior wide receiver Vince Ruelas.
Jensen then capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown toss to senior tight end Zeke Clements, and senior kicker Finn McBride tacked on the PAT to extend the lead to 9-0 with 6:09 remaining in the first quarter.
Herriman started at the 20 after a touchback on the kickoff. On the second play of the series, a long pass attempt was intercepted by senior linebacker Colt Kelley and returned 25 yards to give Lehi a very short field for their next drive.
The Pioneers penetrated as deep as the 4-yard line but elected to kick a field goal on fourth down and McBride delivered a 21-yard boot to bump the advantage to 12-0 with about two minutes left in the period.
The big Mustang running back Filisi Filipe, considered one of the best in the state, found the target at the end of the next Herriman drive and they pulled within 7-12 with 9:26 to go to the break.
Lehi’s next possession ended quickly and the Mustangs got great field position, but they were unable to capitalize on it as the Pioneer defense held them on 4th-and-1 at the Lehi 42 to turn the ball over on downs.
On the second play of the subsequent series, Jensen found Wren all alone downfield and he outran his pursuers to score a 57-yard touchdown at the 5:26 mark to extend the lead once more, this time to 19-7.
Herriman was allowed just one first down on their next drive and punted away after senior defensive lineman Tautai Meredith tipped a 3rd-and-4 pass at the line of scrimmage.
The Mustangs picked off a pass during the ensuing Lehi possession and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown, but Meredith blocked the PAT to keep the score at 19-13 with 1:43 on the clock. That was plenty long enough for the visitors to put more points on the board.
Jensen connected with Clements and Butterfield to quickly move the ball near the goal line and McBride split the uprights with another 21-yard field goal to give the Pioneers a 22-13 margin to take to the locker room.
It was a defensive battle in the second half as neither team scored again until Herriman made a touchdown with 4:54 left in the contest to narrow the gap to 20-22.
Lehi’s rushing attack had been contained for most of the evening, but Bryce managed a big gain for a first down to end the initial series of the drive. Then he converted on a 3rd-and-3 by the nose of the football to keep the chains moving.
Facing a 4th-and-7, Jensen hit Butterfield at the 7-yard-line to get the final first down and the Pioneers ran out the clock with the victory formation to complete the triumph.
Jensen finished the game completing 28-of-44 (64%) for 325 yards. Wren had eight catches for 118 yards and Butterfield snagged eight receptions for 105 yards. Bryce still managed 15 carries for 65 yards and added 29 receiving yards as well.
The linebackers continued to rack up the tackles as senior Brody Downs and Kelley each had 11 and senior Paul Unga had nine with two deflections and a fumble recovery.
Meredith added five tackles including a sack plus three hurries and sophomore defensive back Li’i Unga made three deflections along with three tackles. Senior defensive back Porter Hobbs and senior defensive lineman Trey Nelson each had three solo and seven total tackles.
“I’m proud of the fact that we keep getting better each and every week,” said Coach Andy Hatfield. “As an offensive guy I like to see progress in our quarterback and wide receivers, but all the guys are stepping up their games.
“I’m impressed with that final drive,” he said. “I can’t say enough about our defense; our front seven is really, really good. Also, Kyson played great and made some crucial plays. He showed up in big-time ways.
“This game goes to prove that tough scheduling makes a difference even if you don’t win,” the coach continued. “The boys looked at this as just another game and didn’t psyche themselves out. A win’s a win. It wasn’t perfect but I’m glad we got it done.”
Coming into this game, Filipe had been averaging nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns per game. He still gained 118 yards but it took him 27 carries to do it, yielding less than half his typical average gain. “The defense did a great job containing him.
“A player like that is going to get his yards but we did enough early on to force them to throw more and take them out of what they wanted to do,” Hadfield said.
“Briggs came out sharp and used a lot of targets, which makes it really tough for opposing defenses,” the coach said. “Herriman hasn’t given up a lot of points and they run multiple fronts defensively so we knew it would be tough to run against these guys.
“It’s exciting seeing this team and the heart they have,” he said. “They don’t quit. When things go wrong they just say, ‘We’ll get them next time.’ If we minimize mistakes we have a chance in every game.
“Our spacing is better than we’ve been. It just comes down to kids making plays. It’s fun to see that progress happening one win at a time,” Hadfield said.
The Pioneers (4-3) will resume Region 3 play at No. 6 American Fork (6-1) on Friday (Oct. 2) at 7 p.m. It will be Homecoming for the Cavemen in one of the state’s longest-running rivalry series.
“They’re a good team,” the coach said. “They were young last year so they returned a bunch of players. Aaron Behm is one of the best coaches in the state. In the past they also liked to pound the ball on the ground and they still do that, but they have good receivers now too.
“Their defense tries to make quarterbacks make mistakes,” Hadfield added. “They have a lot of talent and great coaching and it’s a tough place to play.
“As long as we continue on our path, protect the ball and do our assignments, we have a shot. This is a fun team to coach as they do respond to what we’re trying to teach them,” the coach said.
Photos by Jim Ballard.
