Coaches will never quite know how their kids handle difficult situations until they're thrust into them. For West Jordan, adversity doesn't seem to be an issue.
After spotting East a pair of quick touchdowns, West Jordan scored 42 unanswered points in cruising to a convincing 42-14 road victory Friday night.
"We don't want to spot anyone 14 points, but they reacted well," said West Jordan coach Mike Morgan.
Big plays on defense and special teams helped West Jordan climb back into the game but a dominant defense helped it pull away and improve to 2-0. West Jordan forced four turnovers and stuffed East inside the 10 yard line on three separate possessions.
"Our defense, they've responded, they turn it up when they need to and make things happen and it's different people every time," said Morgan. "It helps to to have more kids play one way, and you can tell."
East went ahead 7-0 as Daniel Tu'uhetaufa took the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. After a quick West Jordan turnover, East pulled ahead 14-0 as Nick Sessions hauled in a Tanner Curtis 22-yard touchdown pass.
After that it was all West Jordan.
Trailing 14-7 after a C.J. O'Neal touchdown reception, West Jordan capitalized on an East fumble and pulled to within 14-13 on an Adam Boelter one-yard plunge.
The turning point in the game unfolded on East's next possession, as Cody Byrd picked up a blocked field goal and raced 65 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Leading 21-14 following the big special teams play, an efficient spread offense led by quarterback Boelter enabled the Jaguars to pull away.
They went ahead 28-14 on a six-play, 72-yard drive highlighted by a 51-yard pass from Boelter to Deshawn Perkins, with Burns capping the drive on a one-yard plunge.
West Jordan maintained the lead until halftime and then extended it to 35-14 on a lengthy scoring drive that Jordan Loveridge wrapped up with a five-yard TD pass from Boelter.
The junior quarterback finished the game completing 18-of-30 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
"One of the main reasons we went to this offense is he's right on the money all the time, he's a great leader. He's as accurate a thrower as I've seen in high school," said Morgan.
East had two chances to make things interesting after falling behind 35-14. It drove deep into West Jordan territory only to be stuffed inside the 10-yard line. Following a quick Jaguars fumble, East again had the ball in great scoring position only to be denied again.
"It just shows character, they're making a stand. That's something we focus on weekly," said Morgan.
While West Jordan improves to 2-0, East is desperate for a bounce-back performance next week after falling to 0-2.
e-mail: jedward@desnews.com