I'm feeling great right now. I have to give all the credit to my O-line, though, they blocked as good as it could be, and we just came out and played hard and got the job done. – Weber running back Carter Green
PLEASANT VIEW — Coming into the 2017 high school football campaign, Weber High head coach Matt Hammer felt strongly that this was his definitely best team yet.
And, after five games, the Warriors have certainly lived up to their coach's high expectations.
Senior running back Carter Green powered his way for 181 yards rushing and three touchdowns, senior quarterback Austin Bartholomew had 295 combined yards through the air and on the ground, and Weber's defense turned in another strong performance in a 37-17 non-league victory over Viewmont on Friday night.
"I'm feeling great right now," Green said after the Warriors (4-1) earned their fourth straight win. "I have to give all the credit to my O-line, though, they blocked as good as it could be, and we just came out and played hard and got the job done."
Recent rainstorms and a sophomore game the day before left the south end of Weber's field looking like a gooey mess, but it didn't seem to bother Green, Bartholomew (95 net yards rushing) or Colton Jones, who had an electrifying 77-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter of Weber's annual Homecoming game.
"I just tried to keep my feet underneath me and just make smaller cuts and make it work," said Green, who scored on rushing bursts of 4 and 14 yards in the second quarter and 13 yards in the fourth period.
"We're 4-1, so we're on a roll and the way we're feeling, I don't think anyone can stop us right now. So we're feeling good."
Bartholomew agreed wholeheartedly, giving plenty of credit to the Warriors' defense.
"I think our defense has really stepped up with two shutouts in a row," he said, "and then to hold a really good Viewmont offense to 17 points, that's really good."
Weber got a third-quarter pick-6 from senior cornerback Ryan Hogge in his first game of the season after sitting out the first four due to a broken arm he sustained during a summer scrimmage.
"That was unreal," Hogge said. "It's just so good to be back healed and back into football. I sat out the first four games with an arm injury, and it's just good to be back. It was my first game back and I couldn't have had a better one. That was a great way to start my season.
"It sure didn't bother me on that pick-6," Hogge said of his arm injury. "I knew they were running it right to that guy, so I dove on it and took it to the house."
Ty Barnett came up with another key interception later in the third quarter, stopping a Viewmont threat that had penetrated inside the Weber 10. Barnett's big pick gave the Warriors the ball at their own 1-yard line.
Of Jones' long third-quarter TD run that extended Weber's 17-10 halftime lead to 24-10, Hammer said: "He faked one way and went the completely opposite way, and the kid made a play. One of the things I believe is players make plays and players win games, and that kid made a play. That's what that kid can do when he gets space; he's really, really good."
Weber also got a 22-yard field goal by Pierce Callister.
Viewmont (3-2), which suffered its second straight loss, got 230 yards passing and two touchdowns from Davis Weir, who could've had even more through the air if not for a couple of costly drops.
Lucas Bushey caught three passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, and Cameron Brown had 109 yards rushing for the Vikings, who also got a 13-yard TD reception from Jackson Barber and a 23-yard field goal from Preston Pitt.
"I thought we started a little slow, gave 'em a couple of big plays in the first half, and it turned into 10 points for those guys," said Hammer. "But we had two big interceptions, the pick-6 by Ryan Hogge and the one down here in the red zone by Ty Barnett, and I think those two plays set the tone for what we needed to do defensively.
"We're not giving up big plays. We're bending but not breaking, and that's the sign of a good defense. So we've just got to continue to bend and not break."
Coach Hammer had to stay off the sidelines in the first half after being suspended for an altercation he had with a Northridge coach during last week's game.
"I spent first half in the commons area (inside the school) and it was terrible," he said of being forced to watch the first half on KSL-TV's live feed of the game. "It was hard; it was weird, it was very weird, and I hope I never have to experience that again."
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