There is still a lot to fix, but overall it was a good night. – Wasatch head coach Steve Coburn
OGDEN — The bright orange sun was still an hour from setting, behind the Ogden High School football stadium bleachers, and the Tigers already knew they had their hands full with an aggressive Wasatch team.
The Wasps traveled north from Heber City to Ogden Friday night to open the 2015 football campaign for both squads and defeated the host 33-14.
It was the first season-opening victory for Wasatch in its three years in 4A, and it played from the opening kick-off hungry for that win.
“I thought we played pretty good in the first half,” said head coach Steve Coburn. “Getting off to that fast start allowed us to work on some things we knew we needed to work on. I thought we adjusted well in the second half — on defense anyway.
“We have to get much better in the red zone,” said the coach. “We came away too many times tonight without points. You’ve got to score touchdowns. There is still a lot to fix, but overall it was a good night.”
Coburn’s Wasps took the opening kick-off, and in three running plays — a pair of 10-yard scampers by halfback Kaden Trowbridge and a 36-yarder by quarterback Garrett Davis, had moved the ball 56 yards and within striking distance of the end zone. The opening drive stalled three plays later, and Wasatch called on kicker Skyler Southam, who made good on the 22-yard field goal attempt.
A smothering Wasp defense quickly forced the Tiger offense to punt after three plays, netting a minus 2 yards on its opening drive. A bad snap and a hard rush pushed Ogden punter Johnny Alcarez toward the sideline, where his desperation punt attempt was blocked and recovered by Wasatch at the 12-yard line.
Two plays later, running back Hayden Richards, who gained 102 yards rushing for the Wasps, ran the ball to pay dirt on a 7-yard blast. Southam’s conversion was good and the visitors were up 10-0 less than five minutes into the game.
Wasatch again stymied the Tigers' offense and their quarterback, Matt Richardson, who was covered in Wasps immediately after every snap.
Following a successful Ogden punt, Wasatch took possession at the Tiger 42-yard line and quickly marched down to the 4. The Wasps called Richards' number again and the tailback covered the 4-yard distance into the end zone for his second touchdown in less than a quarter of football. Southam’s PAT hit the left upright and careened to the outside of the goal, but the black and gold took a 16-point advantage.
Two minutes later, a fumble by an Ogden ball carrier in heavy traffic resulted in a turnover for Ben Bos of Wasatch, giving his team first and 10 from the 3-yard line.
The Wasp offense, determined to throw the ball into the end zone, made the connection on the second play of the drive when Davis hit receiver Spencer Pennington on a quick screen for the short touchdown. Southam booted the extra point and Wasatch was up 23-0 with a minute and a half remaining in the first quarter.
The action slowed down in the second quarter as the Ogden defense made the adjustment to the Wasatch no-huddle offense that had them on their heels for the first 12 minutes of the contest.
The Wasps didn’t do themselves any favors, either, as two consecutive drives ended without points after moving the ball and eating up time on the clock. As the Wasps' offense slowed, however, the defense picked up the slack.
The visiting team continued to wreak havok in the Tigers' backfield, disrupting hand-offs and forcing Richardson and running back Raekwon Mcelroy to often abort designed plays and begin scrambling for daylight.
With the half winding down, Wasatch found its groove back with solid gains by Richards, Pennington and Ritchie Heywood. With 39 second remaining in the half, Davis handed the ball to Heywood for the second straight play and the back bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown run. Southam added the point after and the visitors went to the locker room up 30-0.
Once the third quarter got underway, Wasatch put together a solid drive after the period started with an Ogden three-and-out. A pair of Davis pass completions and a couple of gains on the ground by the Wasps' stout running game brought them into enemy territory.
The drive stalled and the Wasps called again on their All-American kicker. Southam’s 35-yard attempt cleared the posts with plenty to spare, but was high up and directly above the right post and ruled no good.
After a short drive by the Tigers, who were beginning to show a glimpse of offensive light, a fumble at midfield killed their hopes of finally penetrating Wasatch territory.
The Wasps took advantage and began to march swiftly in the opposite direction. Runs by Davis, Richards, Pennington and a pass to Nick Piscitelli looked like a real threat.
On first and 10 at the Ogden 31, Davis launched a pass downfield to the left sideline that was deflected into the air by his receiver and intercepted.
Ogden looked to strike quickly and had moved towards midfield on runs by McIlroy and Richardson. A huge sack by Caden Badger on third and 7 killed the drive and the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth period, the home team attempted a fake punt that was swiftly squashed by the Wasps.
The teams traded short drives with neither culminating in points. With 8:30 left in the game, Coburn began to substitute reserves in to rest his starters on offense. Still, the Wasps put together a drive that ended inside the enemy’s 20-yard line. Southam was brought in and made a 33-yard field goal attempt to get Wasatch back on the board and give the black and gold a 33-0 lead.
On Ogden’s next possession, it finally found the play it had been looking for. On second and 1, Mcelroy took the pitch to the right sideline and once he turned the corner, rocketed 71 yards for a touchdown. Alcarez made the PAT and the Ogden faithful were cheering loudly as their team was on the scoreboard, which now read 33-7.
Looking for more, with just over three minutes left in the game, the Tigers attempted an on-sides kick. It was played out perfectly as Mcelroy leapt above the waiting Wasp lineman and snatched the tumbling football.
Then with time running down and facing fourth and 4, Ogden would add a little more excitement to its night. Richardson took the snap and pitched it deep to halfback Hunter Clarke, who was looking downfield to throw. The Wasatch defense closed in quickly, forcing the back to scramble. He eluded several would-be tacklers before finding an open seam and rambling 24 yards for the touchdown on the broken play. Alcarez nailed the extra point and it was 33-14. Forty-four seconds later, the gun sounded and the game was in the books.
Davis, who finished the night with 62 yards rushing and 38 yards passing, one for a touchdown for Wasatch, was pleased to get the win, although he knows his offense must do much better to keep winning.
“We have to finish,” the quarterback said. “It feels good to have a lot of running backs back there with me who can carry the load, but we have to get better in the passing game.”
Wasatch rides big first quarter to win at Ogden
Ritchie Heywood scores on a five yard run for Wasatch late in the second quarter at Ogden.
Kenny Bristow is the sports editor and staff sports writer for the Wasatch Wave and contributes to the Deseret News high school coverage for the Wasatch region. Email: kennywbristow@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.