AMERICAN FORK — The young American Fork Cavemen came out strong and did as expected, dispatching the Cedar Redmen 51-19 in a performance that was dominant from the opening kickoff.
Ethan Wright got things going for the Cavemen with a 90-yard touchdown run off of the opening kickoff by Cedar. He blew by the defenders and gave American Fork the 6-0 lead about 10 seconds into the game. The Cavemen never looked back as a few short minutes later, they extended the advantage to 14-0 as Cade Zarbock broke tackles down the middle of the field before taking to the left sideline to finish his 37-yard run for the first of three touchdowns in the contest.
"Zarbock had a powerful running game. I thought he had a little extra something in the tank tonight," said American Fork Davis Knight about the player who not only came away with three touchdowns but also caught the ball on a two-point conversion attempt after his second score of the game.
But Zarbock wasn't the only American Fork player to have a big game, as Cade Worthington ran the ball well, picking up a 13-yard touchdown along the way.
In addition to his 90-yard opening kickoff return, Wright added a couple of big plays of his own to get the Cavemen into nice position before touchdown conversions.
And perhaps most impressive of all for the Cavemen was the two-headed monster at the quarterback position. The two backs platooned all game long, trading series and giving each other props through the whole contest.
"I like it," Knight said about his quarterback platoon system. "We did a series and then a series, and they both did a good job. They pat each other on the back. They're good friends, and they each command the respect of the team."
While Ryan Pitcher quarterbacked the team well and picked up a pair of two-point conversions for the squad, sophomore Chase Hansen ran one in himself from 10 yards out, scoring a touchdown of his own.
The two quarterbacks each provide a different look, and though both played extremely well, the quarterback situation will continue to be a platoon look next week, according to Knight, as he still couldn't pick one over the other.
While the offense was putting 51 points on the board and the defense gave up a couple of big plays to the Redmen, giving them a little bit of hope on a couple of occasions, including a 70-yard run by Adam Rice to tighten things up to 17-7 late in the first quarter. Rice picked up an 80-yard run on the Redmen's first play after the half to again tighten things to 10 with a 23-13 game at that point. Cedar quarterback Jackson Carter added the Redmen's third touchdown of the contest with a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
And Ryker Mathews shined defensively for the Cavemen, stopping the Redmen in their tracks in the midst of a couple of solid drives. A couple of sacks, including a drive-ending sack on fourth down in the fourth quarter highlighted the Cavemen defense.
Next week American Fork will take on Riverton at home while Cedar travels to Millard.