Cottonwood Hieghts • The first quarter wasn’t even over yet, and things were looking dire for host Brighton.
Quarterback Zach Wilson and running back Tai Gonzales provided the knockout punches to lead Corner Canyon to an easy 52-13 victory over the Bengals.
“We built some confidence as a team, and we play with a chip on our shoulder going into every game,” said Wilson, a Boise State commit. “We got some momentum on our first drive, and it kind of rolled from there. We practice hard, we play hard and we have a strong defense.”
The Chargers jumped out to a quick 28-0 lead to prove why they’re the top-ranked team in Class 5A.
Wilson’s most impressive display of athleticism occurred when he ran the ball on a keeper, slipped past several defenders and scampered down the sideline untouched for a 62-yard touchdown.
In fact, Wilson only played a little over half the game.
On the Chargers’ first possession of the second half, the Corner Canyon quarterback exited after suffering an injury, giving way to backup Cole Hagen. Wilson later returned in the quarter for one more possession, firing a strike to John Mitchell in the corner of the end zone to put an exclamation point on an impressive performance.
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br> Corner Canyon quarterback Zach Wilson only required a little more than two quarters to blister the Brighton defense with four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).
With the game in hand, the Chargers turned to Gonzales, who chewed up yardage for the duration of the contest with several bruising runs in the heart of the Bengals’ defense. Gonzales found pay dirt twice on a pair of touchdown runs.
The Bengals offense couldn’t muster much of a punch, with multiple possessions resulted in three-and-outs. Brighton finally got on the board late in the third when Salua Masina recovered a fumble by Hagen and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. The Bengals’ lone offensive score took place during the waning moments when quarterback Alexander Zettler found Evona Hall.