Note: Corner Canyon finished with a 4-7 overall record in 2015 and fourth in Region 7 with a 3-3 record. It lost to Highland 41-38 in 4A quarterfinals.
Corner Canyon 2015 offensive and defensive stats
DRAPER — As far as crushing losses go, good luck finding a worse punch in the gut than what Corner Canyon’s football team experienced last season.
Leading by 21 points with under four minutes remaining in the 4A quarterfinals, Corner Canyon failed to recover two onside kicks as Highland miraculously erased the deficit — eventually winning in double overtime on a field goal.
Overachieving Corner Canyon had one football in the semifinal door but let it slip away.
Coach Don Eck isn’t dwelling on the loss heading into the 2016 season, and says they’re trying to take the positives out of it.
“Water under the bridge, we’ll learn from it. As a coach I learned you can’t take anything for granted. You better work on your onside kick return every week. For the players, the game’s never over,” said Eck, who’s led the program all four years since the school opened.
Despite nearly reaching the semifinals, Corner Canyon’s season was marred by major injuries to star players and fourth-quarter collapses.
If the team can stay healthy, Eck believes the experience and talent is there for the Chargers to be among 4A’s best.
“Of the 22 starters I don’t see any weaknesses. There are certain positions that don’t have a lot of depth and we need to stay healthy, but this team’s got a chance if we stay healthy,” said Eck.
It needs to learn how to close games out in the fourth quarter though. Of the seven losses last season, six were by single digits and four were by a touchdown or less.
“We’ve got to focus fourth quarter. Last year our biggest thing was we never finished these games. We could’ve easily gone almost undefeated last year, but we just never finished games. There was always a fourth quarter stretch killed us,” said Corner Canyon defensive lineman Dillan Grange.
Kade Pupunu said that mentality will come if the players prioritize practice better.
“You practice how you play in games, and we were all goofing around last year in practice. This year we really need to focus and pick it up, we need more leaders out here. We need to play together and not as individuals,” said Pupunu.
Grange and Pupunu are part of a defense that could be really, really good, particularly against the run.
“We’ve got a legit D-line this year,” said Grange.
Three of Corner Canyon’s four returning starters are from the defensive front, with Grange back at defensive tackle and then Kaden Wright and Shaun Stockwell back at defensive ends. Stockwell was among the team’s top tacklers, including sack leader with 8.5 sacks.
Cade Knaphus and Golden Jensen will rotate in at the other defensive tackle spot, and all five are big, strong kids.
Adam Geilman, Adam Chandler and Pupunu will anchor the linebacking core, three players who got a fair amount of playing time last year because of the rash of injuries.
The secondary evolved into a strength as well this summer.
“Thought secondary was going to be a spot where we were going to have to develop some guys, but it seems we’ve got more depth at the corner spot than I thought we’d have,” said Eck.
Jason Adams is a returning starter at cornerback, and the secondary got an extra boost from Juan Diego transfer David Grostick and then a move-in from Colorado, Mark Rockwood.
In Corner Canyon’s last three games, it gave up 45 points to Alta, shut out Olympus and then allowed 41 points to Highland in the late collapse. A more consistent effort defensively from week to week will be key.
The offense could use similar consistency, and experience at quarterback could help.
Zach Wilson and Hayden Borg both had over 100 pass attempts a year ago, but Wilson took over as the full-time starter toward the end of region play and he heads into this season as the No. 1 — even though Eck said Borg is a great backup to have just in case.
“Zach has a very strong arm, very accurate thrower. He’s getting a lot smarter with his reads. Great feet, he can run our spread offense stuff, our zone reads. Just a great athlete,” said Eck.
As for the players who’ll be protecting the junior, Knaphus is the lone returning starter, but he doesn’t feel any extra pressure as a result.
“The guys that we have right now are all really good guys and they’re hard workers, so that makes it easier on me,” he said.
Dylan Robson got a few injury-replacement starts early in the season at left tackle, while Landon Wicherski started a few games at right tackle toward the end of the year.
After focusing exclusively on the defensive line last year, Grange will platoon on the offensive line as well, and his experience and strength will certainly pay dividends.
Eck said Corner Canyon offensive coordinator Aaron Rodney has three quality tailbacks at his disposal. Injuries thrust Adams into the starting lineup in the middle of the last season, and the junior rushed for over 500 yards and had seven touchdowns.
Juniors Blake Emery and Tai Gonzalez will provide depth at the position, with Emery more of a downhill runner and Gonzalez a really quick back.
Chandler is a returning starter at tight end, but he only had a handful of catches. As for the wide receivers, it’s a very young and inexperienced group as nobody returns with double-digit catches or more than 50 yards receiving.
Corner Canyon Chargers at a glance
Coach: Don Eck is entering his fourth year as head coach at Corner Canyon High School, having amassed a 22-14 record in the first three years. He’s a graduate of Santa Fe High School in California.
Offense (4 returning starters; multiple formation offense)
Offensive coordinator: Aaron Rodney (2nd year as assistant at school)
Returning offensive starters
Cade Knaphus (OL)
Zach Wilson (QB)
Jason Adams (TB)
Adam Chandler (TE)
Offensive newcomers to watch
Dylan Robson (OL)
Landon Wicherski (OL)
Dillan Grange (OL)
Marc DeLaCruz (OL)
Blake Emery (TB)
Tai Gonzalez (TB)
David Grostick (WR)
Jacob Johnston (WR)
Defense (4 returning starters, 4-3 defense)
Defensive coordinator: Mike McCabe
Returning defensive starters
Kaden Wright (DE)
Shaun Stockwell (DE)
Dillan Grange (DL)
Jason Adams (CB)
Defensive newcomers to watch
Adam Geilman (LB)
Adam Chandler (LB)
Kade Pupunu (LB)
Cade Knaphus (DT)
Golden Jensen (DT)
Mark Rockwood (CB)
David Grostick (CB)
Spencer Seamans (CB)
Conner Ebeling (FS)
Blake Emery (SS)
Coaches' preseason Region 7 straw poll: Third
Deseret News Region 7 prediction: Fourth
Bottom line: Expectations are sky high for Corner Canyon heading into the 2016 season, and rightfully so. All the injuries last season allowed a bunch of underclassmen to get valuable experience, and now those players are ready to lead the Chargers a year later. Finding a way to win close games will be key after they were elusive a year ago, but Corner Canyon will likely figure out how to get that done and it should be right in the thick of the Region 7 race as a result.
Last 3
2015 — 4-7 (3-3 in Region 7 — 4A quarterfinals)
2014 — 12-1 (6-0 in Region 7 — 4A semifinals)
2013 — 6-6 (5-1 in Region 7 — 4A quarterfinals)
Corner Canyon coaching history
2013-current — Don Eck (22-14)
Deseret News First Team all-staters the past 10 years
2015 — Keaton Bills, DL
2014 — Riley Ogden, RB
2014 — Branden Bowen, OL
2014 — Braxton Martinson, K
To view second team and honorable mention all-staters through the years, check out the Deseret News All-State Archives.
James Edward is the Deseret News prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer. EMAIL: jedward@deseretnews.com