High school football: Corner Canyon looks impressive again in rout of Arizona power

The Corner Canyon football program added another feat to its already lengthy list of accomplishments on Friday night.

The Chargers invited Liberty — Arizona’s two-time defending state champion — to their campus Friday night and sent the Lions back to their bus with plenty of questions following a 45-14 setback.

Corner Canyon’s Helaman Casuga had a big night passing for 302 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Chargers’ defense that forced four turnovers that made the difference in one of most-impressive early season victories in school history.

“We played well,” said Corner Canyon coach Eric Kjar. “We were worried about their team speed but it was our defense that flew to the ball and we got some turnovers. Plus, Helaman had a good game and everything went our way.”

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Casuga completed 12 of 26 passes, including several important third and fourth-down throws for big yardage, as the Chargers won their 15th straight game.

They improved to 4-0 this year and earned their second victory over an out-of-state power. Corner Canyon is Utah’s two-time defending 6A champ and has won three titles in the last four years.

“You can’t turn the ball over in your own territory like we did against a team like this,” said Liberty coach Colin Thomas. “This is a great atmosphere and they took the momentum. We’re young and still learning. We have to bounce back from this.”

Kjar said he has met several coaches from nearby states in the last few years and, when last year’s realignment by the Utah High School Activities Association reduced Corner Canyon’s region to just five teams, it forced him to be extra creative to find quality opponents.

The Chargers already traveled to West Broward (Fla.) in August and Kjar was happy to arrange a home-and-home match against Liberty, having noted the Lions’ impressive pedigree.

“They’re a good team and well-coached,” Kjar said. “Their defensive line might be the best we’ll play all season. We thought their quarterbacks might cause us some trouble but we kept them mostly bottled up.”

That was apparent pretty quickly. Brayden Stevens started for Liberty, and he and Jayden Pico split time calling signals. Stevens had two of his first four passes intercepted, and that prevented Liberty from getting a strong start.

Corner Canyon, meanwhile, punted on its first drive but Tate Patterson recovered a Pico fumble and Casuga found Jesean Mayberry open on the next play for a 30-yard touchdown.  

Jaxon Evans intercepted a pass a few plays later, and that led to a 15-yard screen pass that Weston Briggs turned into another score.

The Chargers led 21-7 at halftime but the game still felt close. However, Casuga found Kai Meza open down the middle of the field early in the third quarter, and that 80-yard touchdown eventually decided the game.

After Liberty couldn’t move the ball and punted, Casuga led the Chargers on a 76-yard drive that including two long passes to Mayberry and Landon Kjar, and that seemed to deflate the visitors the rest of the game.

Thomas was obviously uncomfortable giving the type of speech he gave his team on the field afterward, while Corner Canyon celebrated with fireworks.

“That’s a good team,” Thomas said. “We knew what we had ahead of us. We’ll see how this affects us and try to learn from it the best we can.”