High school football: 5 intriguing flashback results from Week 8

Lehi has a strong argument for the strongest defensive team this year. The Pioneers are allowing only an average of 11.57 points per game and have 13 total interceptions and three defensive touchdowns through seven games this season.
The Pioneers flexed both its offense and defense in a 48-7 rout over Westlake.
Lehi wide receiver Mays Madsen quickly got the offense on the board with a kickoff return on the opening kick. Madsen then scored on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jett Niu to end the first quarter.
Westlake scored on a 55-yard interception return from Shane Siudzinski in the first quarter, but the Lehi defense made sure that never mattered as it shutout the Thunder.
Lehi scored 41 unanswered points in the dominant win over Westlake, including a 62-yard pick-6 for Ezaiah Mama.
“I was very happy with how our team played against Westlake,” said Lehi head coach Ed Larson. “Region match ups are always very challenging. We still need to improve our offensive efficiency. Westlake did a good job defensively by keeping us to only 14 plays in the first half.”
On the other side of the Valley, Skyridge earned its narrow 21-16 win over Lone Peak. The results place Skyridge at the top with a 3-0 Region 3 record, with Lone Peak and Lehi tied for second with 2-1 region records.
The tie will be broken in Week 9 as Lone Peak is set to host Lehi in a Region 2 powerhouse duel.
(Lone Peak) is having a tremendous season,” said Larson. “Bart (Brockbank) has done a great job getting them ready for big games this year. We will have our hands full in all three phases of the game. Looking forward to the challenge at their place.”
Summit Academy narrowly held on after a South Summit comeback in Week 7 to beat the Wildcats 19-17.
In Week 8, the Bears were on the other side, narrowly beating Judge Memorial 20-17 behind a fourth quarter comeback.
Judge Memorial took control in the first half, first scoring off a interception return from King Long. The Bulldogs continued to push their lead to 10-0 after a field goal from Cash O’Brien just before halftime.
The Bears mounted the second half comeback behind a strong performance from Preston Mackowiak. Mackowiak opened the second half with a 79-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Edmunds. However, Judge found a way to steal back momentum with a 57-yard touchdown run from Texas Wilde.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, Summit Academy found itself trailing 17-7. It took only eight seconds in the fourth for Summit to score again with a reception from Kyle Lively.
Still, the Bears trailed 17-13.
With five minutes left, Mackowiak hit Lively for a 53-yard go-ahead touchdown. Summit Academy’s defense held on for the remainder of the game to seal the 20-17.
The win puts Summit Academy at the top of 2A North with a 3-0 region record. Layton Christian also stands at the top with a 3-0 record, which the Bears will face at home in Week 10.
In this season’s preseason coaches’ poll, Juan Diego was voted to finish fifth out of six 3A North teams. After Week 8 the Soaring Eagles sit in a second place tie with Grantsville after a 28-14 road win over Ogden.
It was the Tigers who scored first, with a touchdown run from Keen Crowther. Juan Diego trailed 7-0 through the first quarter, but then scored four unanswered touchdowns to soar past the Tigers.
The Juan Diego offense got a jumpstart behind Hayden Mezenen’s 67-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Soaring Eagle’s head coach Danny Larson said that play opened everything for the offense.
“With our offense, it is critical that we stay patient and trust the process,” Larson said. “As soon as Mezenen broke that long touchdown run, our offense opened up. We were able to go inside, outside, and we even went over the top. It is fun to watch when they are firing on all cylinders.”
Mezenen was followed by a touchdown run from Corbin Buckley, and a 64-yard touchdown reception from Braylon Fall thrown by Mezenen. Juan Diego scored 21 points in the second quarter for a 21-7 halftime score.
The Soaring Eagles’ defense nearly held Ogden scoreless through the second half. They only gave up a touchdown in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Last year Juan Diego lost to Ogden 28-14 in the first round of the 3A playoffs. Larson said that made Week 8′s win all the sweeter.
“Ogden is a very good team,” Larson said. “They eliminated us a year ago. They had our attention and we knew we would have to play well for 4 quarters.”
Woods Cross’ RPI ranking vaulted up from No. 15 to No. 12 after its clutch 12-10 win over Northridge in Week 8. It was a bounceback win from Week 7′s 33-14 road loss to undefeated Roy.
The Wildcats and Knights stayed in a narrow fight throughout the game, with Northridge scoring first with a touchdown pass from Tre Nye to Braxton Featherstone in the first quarter.
The Knights held that lead through the first half, and didn’t let up until the third quarter where Woods Cross’ Ryker Martin scored to bring it within 7-6. However, a field goal only two minutes later pushed Northridge to a 10-6 lead and its defense didn’t seem to be letting up.
Woods Cross gained possession, marched down and scored on a run from Nathan Webb to go up 12-10. The Wildcats’ defense held on to give them the third consecutive win over Northridge and took a 3-2 region record.
The Wildcats will finish their in-region schedule with a road game at Box Elder, and a game at Bountiful.
It’s been 25 years since West Jordan has won a region title, which it shared in a four-way tie with Bingham, Taylorsville and Granger in 1999. You have to go back to 1994 to find the last time the Jaguars won their region outright.
The 30-year outright title drought may come to a close this year, with West Jordan standing at a 3-0 record in Region 4 after a convincing 38-13 win over Cyprus on Friday.
West Jordan head coach Ron Halbert was on the coaching staff during the Jaguars run in the ’90s, and he wants nothing more than to regain that success.
“My Assistant Head Coach Troy Egbert and I were coaching here at West Jordan in (1999) as well when we won it outright under head coach Rick Bojak,” said Halbert. “It has been one of our goals since we took over here a few years ago to win an outright region title, and take this team deep in the playoffs again.
“Both of our roots are deep here at West Jordan, and we would love nothing more than to bring a winning atmosphere back like it was here in the mid 90′s. We have a chance to do just that this year, it is in our hands to win out.”
West Jordan immediately jumped to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter behind two touchdown passes from Tyson Demke. Demke, and the entire Jaguars’ offense has had to adapt since losing starting quarterback Riley Warner to an injury in Week 2.
West Jordan’s game against Cyprus was the most productive game its had offensively since its 31-point performance over Alta in Week 3.
“We finally got things together for the most part against Cyprus this past week especially with our run game, totalling 324 yards rushing,” Halbert said. “We knew we had some good running backs but it just took a while to get the run game going.”
Cyprus got early offense from its defense with a pick-6 from Britton Jepsen early in the first quarter. However, West Jordan’s defense held Cyprus to one touchdown for the remainder of the game. Its defense has been a highlight this season and outside of its blowout loss to Orem, the Jaguars have held opponents to an average to 17.7 points per game.
The Jaguars continued to score, putting up 17 for the remainder of the game for the 38-13 win.
Before Week 8, Taylorsville and West Jordan were tied 2-0 at the top of Region 4. However, with Taylorsville losing to Granger in Week 8, the Jaguars’ fate at the top of Region 4 is solely in their hands.