Lone Peak flexed its muscles Friday night in Highland, pulling away from Crimson Cliffs in the second half of a cross-classification clash to earn an impressive 49-14 victory. It took some adjustments but the Knights proved to be more than the Mustangs could handle when all was said and done. “I thought the boys started off pretty good,” Lone Peak head coach Bart Brockbank said.
Lone Peak flexed its muscles Friday night in Highland, pulling away from Crimson Cliffs in the second half of a cross-classification clash to earn an impressive 49-14 victory.
It took some adjustments but the Knights proved to be more than the Mustangs could handle when all was said and done.
“I thought the boys started off pretty good,” Lone Peak head coach Bart Brockbank said. “We made a bunch of mental mistakes with some penalties...but I felt like the boys played an overall good game.”
Lone Peak’s penalties aided a pair of Crimson Cliffs drives in the second quarter that ended in touchdowns. The second of those touchdowns put the visitors in striking distance at 21-14 with 35 seconds left before halftime, but that proved to be plenty enough time for Lone Peak and its wealth of offensive weapons.
The game turned fully in the Knights’ favor from there, as they used 27 seconds to drive 80 yards for a touchdown to begin what turned into 28 unanswered points before the final whistle.
“It certainly gave us the momentum back,” Brockbank said of the speedy drive. “We work a lot on the two-minute drill. … We run it a lot. We got some guys that can go get the ball. That helps.”
Ultimately, Lone Peak put together a well-rounded effort Friday, blocking a punt, getting touchdowns from four different players on offense and another touchdown from the other side of the ball on a fumble recovery in the end zone.
The Knights’ defense tightened things up in the second half, keeping the Mustangs frustrated and scoreless.
“In the first half, we were aligned a little bit wrong,” Brockbank said of his defense. “We shot the wrong gaps, but then we fixed it.”
As is often expected in the initial game of the season, Lone Peak will have things to clean up in coming weeks, though the Knights’ multiple penalties and mistakes ultimately proved harmless in their comfortable 35-point win Friday.
“I think some of the errors were (a lack of) effort,” Brockbank said. “I think kids were taking plays off. … (There’s) stuff we got to clean up. We can’t give them freebies.”
Still, Brockbank was not surprised by the challenges Crimson Cliffs posed for his team at times Friday.
“They’re a good team,” he said. “They got a great coaching staff.”
Despite the lopsided final score, the pair of schools were two of the best teams in their classifications a season ago. The Mustangs won the 4A state title and remain poised to contend for this year’s crown, while the Knights fell to Corner Canyon in the 6A championship game by a field goal.
But the two schools remain focused on this year now. Lone Peak will face off against one of the top teams in the 5A classification next Friday when it meets Orem, while Crimson Cliffs will return to southern Utah for its home opener against Provo the same day.
Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Category: General Sports
