The Corner Canyon Chargers will face off against the Layton Lancers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Corner Canyon is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: Lehi, who was ranked seventh at the time (Corner Canyon was ranked first). The Chargers simply couldn't be stopped two weeks ago as they easily beat the Pioneers 56-3. Considering the Chargers have won seven games by more than 24 points this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Helaman Casuga had another great game (as he tends to do), throwing for 286 yards and four TDs while picking up 11.9 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 42 yards. Kai Meza was another key player, picking up 120 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Corner Canyon proved: they limited Lehi to a paltry two yards per carry. The team can thank Mason Wood for the heroic effort on defense: he. Corner Canyon didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.5.
Corner Canyon didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Fui Vakapuna and Brighton Shepard. Jayden Pearce was another major factor on D, picking up two sacks and making six total tackles.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Layton had no problem doing just that on Friday. Everything went their way against the Aviators as they made off with a 41-16 win. The victory was some much needed relief for the Lancers as it spelled an end to their seven-game losing streak.
Layton's win came from a few key players Corner Canyon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Tillman Thomas, who threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Gavin Hurst was Thomas' top target, picking up 53 receiving yards and one TD, while also rushing for 36 yards and one score.
One reason for the win was Layton's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Leading the way was Parker LeDuc with two.
Corner Canyon's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Layton, their victory bumped their record up to 3-8.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Corner Canyon has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 310.2 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Layton, though, as they've been averaging only 147.7 passing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Everything came up roses for Corner Canyon against Layton in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 52-0 win. Will the Chargers repeat their success, or do the Lancers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
