After going up 17-0 midway through the first quarter on Friday against the Pleasant Grove Vikings, the Wasatch Wasps probably felt like they would be able to handle their game with ease.
The exact opposite happened however, as Wasatch went on to score just three points the rest of the game as Pleasant Grove went on a 49-0 run to pull away.
Behind a standout performance from quarterback Nic Staffieri, Pleasant Grove was able to handle Wasatch with ease and ultimately run away with a dominating and emphatic, 58-20 victory.
Staffieri had a night to remember, throwing for five touchdowns. Receivers Cannon Hale and Kale McCoy also had fantastic games, with three and two touchdown catches, respectively.
The game got off to a rocky start for the home team. Wasatch scored on its first possession with a 17-yard field goal by Hunter Roylance that gave it the early 3-0 lead.
An interception thrown by Staffieri on the first offensive play for Pleasant Grove sent the Wasp offense right back out onto the field looking to add to their early lead. Quickly, Wasatch made Pleasant Grove pay for its mistake with a 12-yard touchdown run from Chris Cook.
Wasatch increased its lead midway through the first quarter when quarterback Sven Tholstrom found wideout Crew Erickson for a 41-yard touchdown.
At that point, it seemed like the visitors were on cruise control and had a complete handle on the game.
The tide started to turn, however, when Pleasant Grove got its first points of the game on a 15-yard touchdown run from Hale.
Eventually, Hale’s second touchdown on the night gave Pleasant Grove a 28-17 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Pleasant Grove broke the game wide open in the third quarter, putting up 21 points in the frame thanks to an 84-yard touchdown reception by Hale, a 2-yard TD run by Jaeden Wright and McCoy scoring with an 11-yard reception from Staffieri.
With the victory, Pleasant Grove moves to 3-1 on the season, while Wasatch loses its second game in a row and falls to 1-3.
Pleasant Grove will next have an away game against Riverton. Wasatch will hope to get back to winning with a home game against Salem Hills.