Our kids played hard but there were a lot of mistakes we’ve got to keep cleaning up in order to make this thing happen the way we want it to happen – Ed Larsen
LEHI — Lehi is slowly rediscovering the magic that led to such a promising start to the 2017 season.
Cammon Cooper passed for 414 yards and three touchdowns and the defense held Olympus scoreless until a late field goal in a dominating 33-3 win to open Region 6 play.
“It was definitely huge, especially since there’s only five games in region. Get a big win against a good Olympus team is really good,” said Cooper.
Cooper connected with wide receiver Jaxon Moody for all three of his touchdowns in addition to his 1-yard plunge to open the scoring in the first quarter.
The victory was the second straight for Lehi, which made headlines early in the season with wins over Alta and Pine View. Back-to-back losses to Lone Peak and Springville in Week 3 and 4 slowed the momentum, but Cooper is helping Lehi find its form again with seven TD passes in the past two weeks.
Lehi coach Ed Larson was pleased with the win, but as the offensive co-coordinator, he was disappointed that his team crossed the 25-yard line on three other occasions in the first half and came away with no points.
“Our kids played hard but there were a lot of mistakes we’ve got to keep cleaning up in order to make this thing happen the way we want it to happen,” said Larson.
Cooper had 312 passing yards in the first half as Lehi repeatedly gashed Olympus in the first half on wide receiver screens and screen passes underneath to running backs.
“They kind of were staying deep so we were taking what they were giving us, and the receivers making plays and making guys miss and getting yardage,” said Cooper.
Thanks to some miscues though the Pioneers only had 13 points to show for it at halftime. They fumbled the ball inside the red zone after a long pass play and just before halftime dropped what would’ve been a touchdown on fourth down.
Thanks to stout defense though, Lehi was still in great shape up two touchdowns at the half as Cooper scored on a 1-yard TD run and then Moody hauled in a 13-yard TD pass from Cooper.
Lehi started to put the game out of reach late in the third quarter as Moody hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from Cooper with 3:27 left in the third quarter for the 20-0 lead.
Olympus responded with a methodical 11-play drive, but it stalled at Lehi’s 36-yard line. One play later Cooper connected with Moody for the 64-yard strike to push the lead to 26-0.
Lehi tacked on its last touchdown with 10:29 left in the game on a 26-yard TD run by Jaxson Harward, one play after a Jermy Hansmann interception to the 33-0 lead.
The game had a scary situation early in the fourth quarter when Olympus receiver Nick Ward took a big hit and had to be stretchered off the field with a head injury and taken to an area hospital in an ambulance for precautionary reasons.