Draper • Something just didn’t seem to jibe about Mikey Petty when Eric Kjar took over the Corner Canyon Chargers football coaching job last year.
Petty had athleticism, which Kjar could see. But for a high school defensive end, Petty’s frame as a junior didn’t seem to coalesce with the numbers he produced.
And what numbers they were.
Petty managed to work his way around enough offensive tackles and get to the quarterback over and over and over. In fact, 20 sacks were the final result as Petty and then-senior Jordan Lolohea at East (with 23) were the only Utah players to reach that plateau. Only 46 defenders nationwide topped the 20-sack mark in 2016.
Not bad for a guy who says, “I wasn’t a very big kid last year. I only weighed 180 pounds.”
But getting outsized actually may be a key to Petty’s versatility at the position.
“I think I had to be a little bit quicker. If they got their hands on me, then I maybe got tossed a little more,” Petty said. “I learned not to let hands get on me, not to get pushed around.”
Kjar said: “He had good length, and I could see that was an asset. But his strength didn’t quite match up. That’s where I thought he’d have to be bigger to have those kinds of numbers. But you watch film though and instinctually he matches that [sack total] with the way he plays.”
MIKEY PETTY <br>School • Corner Canyon <br>Year • Senior <br>Position • Defensive end <br>Height • 6 foot 4 <br>Weight • 215 pounds <br>Accolades • Earned All-Tribune team honors as a junior. … Finished with 20 sacks during his junior season. … Has recorded three sacks through his team’s first two games this season. … Has a scholarship offer from San Diego.
Now Petty is bigger and getting closer to having a physical stature that, combined with quick moves born out of necessity, only makes the 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior even more of a menace to offenses.
“It’s better than last year for sure,” Petty said. “I feel stronger and don’t feel I’m getting pushed around nearly as much as I was last year.”
Petty said that he studies film on defensive ends — the Broncos’ Von Miller and Texans’ J.J. Watt are his favorites — and sometimes saves a special block-eluding move for the right moment.
One of those times came at the end of the season-opener against Pleasant Grove after several near-misses. Petty then recorded a couple of sacks last week in a game against Riverton.
Three sacks in two games may not be equal to last year’s pace, but now it’s harder for Petty to sneak up on opponents.
Corner Canyon quarterback Zach Wilson, who has committed to Boise State, believes that Petty’s intelligence is another major asset as he adjusts to getting more attention.
“He really understands the game,” Wilson said. “He never gets beat around the edge. He always knows what’s going on. He’s not the biggest defensive end you’ve ever seen playing around here, but he’s really worked on that.
“I don’t think they [opponents] expect he can kill them like that. But he gets interceptions at D-end and, if not that, he’s batting balls down. He gets back there quick, too.”
Kjar’s hire at Corner Canyon meant a coach known for generating offense was in charge.
Petty, who has a scholarship offer from the University of San Diego but hasn’t committed yet, was leery of rumors that suggested Kjar’s only interest was on that side of the ball.
“At first, I kind of had that impression because that’s what everybody said,” Petty said. “But because I’m a defensive player, I wanted to make sure that we focused on our defense.
“He didn’t take a couple of guys, who could have been on offense. … He’s trying to focus more on the defense.”
Corner Canyon is 2-0 this season and ranked fourth in Class 5A entering Friday’s against against visiting Westlake.
“I think it does feel different than last year. We compete more in practice, it feels like we have an edge,” Petty said. “Our offense scores a lot more, so defensively, we go out there thinking we want to make the stop because we don’t want them getting into a shootout with our offense.”
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE <br>Thursday <br>Stansbury at Grantsville <br>Richfield JV at Wayne <br>Friday <br>West Side (Idaho) at Rich, 4 p.m. <br>Milford at Layton Christian, 4 p.m. <br>Altamont at West Wendover (Nev.), 4 p.m. <br>Springville vs. Sky View at Utah State, 5:30 p.m. <br>American Fork vs. Servite (Calif.) at Mission Viejo High, 6 p.m. <br>Monticello at San Juan <br>Pleasant Grove at Jordan <br>Dixie at Tooele <br>Moapa Valley (Nev.) at Hurricane <br>Viewmont at Green Canyon <br>Payson at Emery <br>Ben Lomond at Morgan <br>Northridge at Syracuse <br>Box Elder at Mountain Crest <br>Highland at Hillcrest <br>Summit Academy at Judge Memorial <br>Roy at Skyridge <br>Hunter at Mountain View (Idaho) <br>Manti at Pine View <br>Spanish Fork at Maple Mountain <br>Carbon at Duchesne <br>Cedar City at North Sanpete <br>Bingham at Herriman <br>West Jordan at Bear River <br>Logan at Ogden <br>Delta at Beaver <br>Cottonwood at Kearns <br>Gunnison Valley at South Sevier <br>Copper Hills at Cyprus <br>Granger at Bountiful <br>Davis at Layton <br>Mountain View at Wasatch <br>Juab at Salem Hills <br>Weber at Clearfield <br>Provo at Riverton <br>Westlake at Corner Canyon <br>Lehi at Lone Peak <br>Las Vegas (Nev.) at Snow Canyon <br>Woods Cross at West <br>Millard at North Sevier <br>Uintah at Union <br>Brighton at Olympus <br>Fremont at Bonneville <br>Juan Diego at Skyline <br>North Summit at Enterprise <br>Richfield at Kanab <br>Alta at Taylorsville <br>Timpanogos at Canyon View <br>American Leadership at Grand County <br>South Summit at Park City <br>Monument Valley at Many Farms (Ariz.) <br>East at Saguaro (Ariz.) <br>Ridgeline vs. Raymond (Alberta), at Utah State, 8:30 p.m. <br>Desert Hills at Mission Hills (Calif.), 9 p.m. <br>Parowan at Calvary Chapel (Nev.), 8 p.m. <br>Saturday <br>Timpview vs. Del Oro (Calif.) at Mission Viejo High, 5 p.m. <br><br>All games at 7 p.m. unless noted