Defensive woes plague Warrior, Cougar football
Scoring hasn’t been too much of a problem for Taylorsville and Kearns High’s football teams this season. Keeping opponents out of the end zone is a whole different matter.
The Warriors and Cougars have each started the season 1-3, with Kearns allowing an average of 25 points per game and Taylorsville 30. Kearns shut out Copper Hills 31-0 for its lone victory, while Taylorsville edged longtime rival Murray 28-23 to snap a six-game losing streak.
Kearns
The Cougars opened with a 13-10 overtime loss to Pleasant Grove before blanking Copper Hills. Kearns then lost to 5A powers Northridge 42-27 and Jordan 43-7 in consecutive weeks.
Kearns led Pleasant Grove 10-7 in the fourth quarter before the Vikings got field goals to tie in regulation and win in overtime. Peter Malaga caught a touchdown pass from Justin Summers and Brock Whetman kicked a field goal for Kearns. Malaga had 15 tackles and an interception on defense.
James Felila’s three rushing touchdowns helped the Cougars steamroll Copper Hills. Afuvai Leiato scored on an interception return and Whetman booted another field goal. Felila and Adrian Mejia combined to rush for over 130 yards and Summers threw for 82 yards, 33 on a pass to Michael Hickenlooper. Malaga once again led the defensive effort with six tackles.
Northridge led 28-6 at halftime against Kearns before the Cougars came within eight points in the fourth quarter. Still, the Knights answered every score with one of their own. Summers ran for two touchdowns and Mejia and Felila each had one score. Malaga made 13 tackles.
The Cougars had no answers for Jordan, which led 29-0 at halftime and 43-0 after three quarters. Summers was injured early in the game, and Mejia hauled in a touchdown pass from Jordan Floyd to account for Kearns’ points.
Kearns was set to host Riverton on Sept. 15 before facing Taylorsville on Sept. 23.
Taylorsville
The Warriors kicked off the season with consecutive losses to Copper Hills (27-18) and Hillcrest (35-7) before defeating Murray. Taylorsville lost 35-14 to Olympus on Sept. 9.
Copper Hills led just 14-12 at halftime before pulling away in the second half against Taylorsville. Dylan Wilson rushed for three touchdowns and finished with 204 yards on the ground. Austin Sievert and Brigham Peisley each made six tackles for the Warriors, who led 12-7 in the second quarter.
Hillcrest opened a 21-0 halftime lead and increased the margin to 28-0 after three quarters. Wilson rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown and threw for 63 yards – 42 on a pass to Mark Lesuma. Peisley had seven tackles and an interception and Dakota Kondor had a pair of sacks.
Taylorsville broke through against Murray, leading 20-7 at halftime and 28-14 in the fourth quarter. Wilson ran for a touchdown and threw for two scores to Peisley. Curtis Hess added a rushing touchdown, as the Warriors overcame an early 7-6 deficit. Wilson rushed for 151 yards and threw for 133, while Hess ran for 66 yards, Peisley had seven catches for 106 yards and Kondor had two sacks.
After a slow start, the Warriors kept things close against Olympus, coming within 21-14 in the third quarter after trailing 21-7 at halftime. Wilson connected with Peisley on a touchdown pass and T.C. Zitting rushed for another score for Taylorsville, which trailed 14-7 after one quarter.
The Warriors were scheduled to play Delta on Sept. 16 before hosting Kearns on Sept. 23.
