AMERICAN FORK — In coach Aaron Behm's short five-year tenure he had never beaten Lone Peak until Thursday night, when the Knights were shocked by the Cavemen in a 51-24 loss. The crowd earned a treat as the Cavemen beat rival Lone Peak for the first time in six years.
Lone Peak made this look like it was going to be a game when the score was tied at 14 at the end of the first half and it was only down by two at the end of the first half.
American Fork took the lead on its opening drive and never gave it up, with Zach Katoa starting his night off with a 1-yard touchdown. But the Knights came right back and scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Talmadge Gunther. The Cavemen came back the very next drive as Katoa had another touchdown, this time a 6-yard run with 5:13 left in the first quarter. On American Fork's next drive, it fumbled on the 21-yard line and Lone Peak capitalized with a score of its own to tie the game at 14 at the end of the first quarter.
On the Knights' next drive, they had to punt, and the snap was too high and went to the back of the end zone for a safety to put the Cavemen up by two. American Fork went on a 64-yard drive, and it was capped off with Katoa punching in a 1-yard touchdown to extend the Cavemen's lead to 22-14 with 2:47 left in the first half. But Lone Peak wasn't going down easy, with a huge kickoff return that put the Knights at the 20-yard line, and they threw a 20-yard touchdown to Payton Humphries. That ended the half with American Fork leading 23-21 at the end of the first half.
To start the second half, American Fork was not going to let Lone Peak back into the game, and the Cavemen went on a scoring spree. Zach Katoa took things into his own hands. Tanner Smith had a dump-off pass to Katoa, who ran it 14 yards for his third touchdown of the night. Lone Peak was looking to make a game of it but had to settle for a field goal with 4:32 left in the third quarter. On the kickoff return, the Cavemen returned it all the way to the 45-yard line, which resulted in another short pass to Katoa, who ran it this time 19 yards for the score, putting the Cavemen ahead 37-14.
To start the fourth quarter, Nate Honey got the call and ran in a 2-yard touchdown. The Cavemen once again stopped Lone Peak and got the ball back. Tanner Smith led his team all the way down the field and set up another run by Katoa to cap off the night 51-24.
Katoa had six touchdowns total, four rushing and two receiving. Herriman hosts the Cavemen next Friday, and Lone Peak goes on the road again to play Pleasant Grove.