The kink in the armor Corner Canyon showed two months ago in a surprising regular-season loss to Lone Peak was nowhere to be found in Friday afternoon’s 6A semifinal.
Top seed Corner Canyon scored every time it touched the ball but once against No. 4 Mountain Ridge, dominating from the opening possession in rolling to the 59-20 victory to move within one game of a third-straight state championship.
“Our line really sets the tone for us. It gives us a chance on all of our drives, too, and because they protect well, and then we’re able to run the ball well too. When you can do both of those things well, you’re going to have a chance to move the ball and be productive,” said Corner Canyon coach Eric Kjar, whose team racked up 563 yards of total offense.
The Chargers will face the winner of Skyridge-Lone Peak in the championship game — the program’s eighth straight title game appearance.
“That’s a testament to our kids being consistent. And a lot of times I think you can get where you have some success in a program, and they’ll forget what got them there, and the process, all the lifting, the running, the extra stuff that you do and put on kids and demand of them,” said Kjar.
Mountain Ridge simply had no answer for Corner Canyon’s balanced offensive game plan — 360 passing yards, 203 rushing yards.
Corner Canyon QB Helaman Casuga enjoyed one of his most efficient games of the season as he completed 25 of 31 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Kai Meza.
Casuga also rushed for a score, with Weston Briggs leading the ground game with 87 yards and a pair of rushing TDs.
“He’s just locked in. His process is really good. He studies a ton and does everything the right way. He’s fun to coach. He’s just so even keel and chill, and he doesn’t waver very often with his confidence or emotions,” said Kjar.
Before Corner Canyon ran away with its staggering eighth straight semifinal victory, there was a moment in the second quarter where it seemed the outcome wasn’t a forgone conclusion.
After Mountain Ridge’s Caden Runyon intercepted a pass in the end zone to prevent Corner Canyon from going up 21-0, the Sentinels marched 80 yards in 10 plays to cut the deficit to 14-6 on a Zach Ofisa 3-yard TD run.
With 8:22 left in the second quarter, Mountain Ridge seemed to be back in business.
Corner Canyon’s offense went right back to work, though. Weston Briggs scored on a 3-yard TD run and then Davis Nelson booting a field goal before halftime as the Chargers pushed the lead to 24-6.
The teams traded touchdowns early in the third quarter, with Corner Canyon pulling ahead 31-6 on a Casuga 62-yard pass to Meza, and then Mountain Ridge answering with a 5-yard TD reception from Grayden Dumas — his second of the game.
Things escalated quickly from there.
Over a span of 2:15 on the clock, Corner Canyon scored 21 straight points to extend the lead to 52-12. Casuga hit Meza on a 40-yard TD pass, and then Briggs took a Casuga screen pass 58 yards for the touchdown.
The exclamation point was Jaoquin Rodriguez’s 68-yard pick six with 3:59 left in the third for the 52-12 lead. It was his second interception of the game.
“It was rough at the beginning for sure, we weren’t as dialed in as we wanted to. But like we preach in the locker room, in the weight room, we’ve got to bounce back, we’ve got to be able to handle adversity, and that’s what great teams do,” said Casuga.
The Corner Canyon senior has been playing very good football since he threw four interceptions in Corner Canyon’s 42-21 loss to Lone Peak two months ago. He’d love a chance at Lone Peak in the championship, but regardless of who he faces he’s excited for another chance to play on the big stage.
“I didn’t play my best, obviously you can see that on film. I’ll admit to it, everyone has a bad game. That was my bad game, unfortunately,” said Casuga.
He was at his best in the semifinals, and he’ll get a chance next week to lead Corner Canyon to a third straight state championship.