SANDY — The Jordan Beetdiggers’ only hope to steal the Region 7 championship from their former coach and the Corner Canyon Chargers Wednesday night was with defense.
They almost did it, too, but the Chargers also showed an impressive defense, and Van Fillinger’s uncanny 58-yard interception return in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in Corner Canyon’s 28-20 win.
The win kept the Chargers undefeated (8-0) and gave them a No. 1 seed in the upcoming 5A playoffs. Jordan (5-4, 4-1) earned the second spot. Both teams also will get first-round games at home.
“Our defensive is opportunistic,” said Kjar, who spent eight years at Jordan before leaving in 2016. This was his first time back — albeit on the opposite sideline.
“We always have been a team capable of making big plays.”
The Chargers needed them, too. Their normally potent offense was held in check most of the game. They still led 21-14 at halftime, but couldn’t get a first down until quarterback Cole Hagen teamed with John Mitchell for a 43-yard scoring pass with 8:35 remaining. The play, however, was nullified by a holding penalty. They tried it again, but Jordan defender Wyatt Jones intercepted the pass and his nice return gave the Diggers a chance to pull off the win.
The game’s biggest play came just afterward. Facing a third-and-4 from the Chargers’ 36, Jordan quarterback Christian Bruderer’s pass was deflected back at him, and the ball bounced off Bruderer’s shoulder pad into the air, where the surprised Fillinger grabbed it and immediately started galloping downfield.
“(I) don’t know how it got there. I just ran it back,” Fillinger said. “I just saw the goal line. I didn’t look back once; I just kept going.”
While Jordan’s sideline and its fans tried to figure out what happened, Kjar and the Chargers’ went into a frenzy. The play deflated the Diggers and Fillinger remained so hyped that he practically ended Jordan’s final offensive series by himself.
Caden Johnson provided most of Corner Canyon’s offensive heroics. He finished with just over 100 yards rushing, including an 83-yard scoring run in the first quarter. Hagen completed just 7 of 21 passes for 153 yards, with most going to the 6-foot-5 Mitchell, who might have been the game’s hero if not for that penalty.
Jordan got 266 passing yards from Bruderer, but Corner Canyon also forced three interceptions. Ethan Bolingbroke had 12 catches for 157 yards and a score for the Beetdiggers.