Highland • If a Class 4A team could beat Lone Peak last week, Lehi must have reasoned that the top-ranked squad in Class 5A could do it, too.
But the Knights, smarting from a road loss to Dixie, had something to say about that.
The answer was a resounding no.
Lone Peak scored three touchdowns in the first half and rolled to a 40-7 win over the Pioneers.
“They’ve got a great offensive team, Ed [Larson, Lehi’s coach] runs an impressive program. Cam is a great quarterback,” said Knights coach Bart Brockbank, whose team limited Lehi signal-caller Cammon Cooper to only 45 yards passing in the first two quarters.
“Our philosophy was that there’s certain guys who would be allowed to beat us and certain guys who wouldn’t be allowed to beat us. They have a couple of core guys — two really good receivers. We felt like if we lost the game and someone besides those two receivers beat us, then we could live with that.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>While Lehi quarterback Cammon Cooper is getting the attention these days, Lone Peak QB Brock Jones was the more effective of the passers Friday. Jones completed 13 of his 25 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
Brockback said the two who got the Knights’ attention were wideouts Dallin Holker and Kade Moore. Cooper, who is committed to Washington State, found Moore for a 10-yard touchdown pass, but that only clipped the Lone Peak (2-1) lead to 26-7.
Lehi (2-1) fell behind initially on the last play of the first quarter when Knights running back Kobe Freeman ran for a 2-yard TD. Lone Peak quarterback Brock Jones twice found receiver Cody Collins for touchdown strikes in the second quarter.
A 64-yard scoring connection put Lone Peak up 20-0 midway through the second.
Meanwhile, Cooper & Co. were getting little to nothing and only collected three first downs before intermission.
“We had a really good week of practice, and I think our coach prepared us really well for that team,” said Lone Peak sophomore Jared Fotu, who helped keep the pressure on the Pioneers line from a linebacker or defensive tackle position.
“I think we did pretty good,” Knights free safety Nate Ritchie said. “We stopped them. They didn’t really do anything against us.”
Ritchie, also the team’s field goal kicker, booted home kicks of 27 and 47 yards and also took off from the punter spot in the third quarter to pick up a first down when the visitors were trying to claw back into the game.
The clincher for Lone Peak came when defensive end Michael Daley picked a Cooper pass and ran back 60 yards for a 33-7 lead. On Lehi’s next possession, it was Knights defensive lineman Keaton Fuller who snagged a Cooper offering and ran his interception 38 yards to set up a 2-yard run by Mason Wake for the final score.
“This week our defense came with an embarrassed attitude,” said Brockbank, whose squad fell to Dixie 44-30 in Week 2. “They worked hard and did a really good job against Cammon.”