HIGHLIGHTS: No. 18 Corner Canyon stuns No. 3 IMG Academy 35-34 with second-half comeback

Five-star senior wide receiver Jerome Myles hauls in three touchdown passes to guide Chargers biggest win in program history.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Jordan Divens
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Aug 23, 2024, 10:00am
No. 18 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) shocked the high school football world Thursday night, pulling off a 35-34 victory over perennial powerhouse No. 3 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). The Chargers were powered by five-star senior wide receiver Jerome Myles, who finished with three touchdowns and 125 yards on five catches.

Trailing 28-14 at halftime, the Chargers flipped the script and scored 21 unanswered points, surviving a failed two-point conversion to stun the Ascenders and snap their 18-game winning streak.

The defining moment of arguably the biggest win in Corner Canyon program history came with 6:10 remaining in the game as IMG Academy sophomore running back Tranard Roberts lost a fumble that was recovered by the defense at the Corner Canyon 43 yard-line.

Four-star junior Helamen Casuga , who completed 22 of 31 pass attempts for 330 yards and four touchdowns, hooked up with Myles to give Corner Canyon a 35-28 lead with 4:45 remaining in the contest.

The Ascenders responded with an 8-yard touchdown from Roberts with 1:31 remaining, but were stopped at the goal-line after SMU pledge Ty Hawkins was tackled after keeping a read-option.

Both high-powered offenses were slowed to begin the second half as Corner Canyon was forced to punt after receiving the ball first in the third quarter. IMG Academy drove the ball nearly 90 yards — from their own 6 to the Chargers' 5 — before turning the ball over on downs.

Following their fourth down stop, the Chargers cut the deficit to one possession on a Zion Finau 1-yard touchdown run with 2:34 remaining in the third period to cap the 95-yard drive.

After another big stop on the defensive side of the ball, Myles came down with a spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the end-zone for a 25-yard touchdown to tie things at 28 with 6:59 to go in the game.
Four-star junior Helamen Casuga leads Corner Canyon to epic comeback win over IMG Academy. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
Four-star junior Helamen Casuga leads Corner Canyon to epic comeback win over IMG Academy. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
IMG is 98-7 since 2013 and has only lost two games in a single season once — 2013-14.

Speedy freshman wideout Eric McFarland opened the scoring for the Ascenders, taking a swing pass from Hawkins to the house from approximately 50 yards out with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter.

Corner Canyon promptly responded with a 45-yard touchdown connection to three-star junior Kai Meza on third and 12 with 1:59 to go in the opening period.

In the opening minute of the second quarter, Hawkins hooked up with Missouri commit Donovan Olugbode down the right sideline for a 31-yard score to put the Ascenders back ahead 14-7.

After quickly forcing Corner Canyon into a three-and-out and getting a good punt return from Olugbode that put them in excellent field position, IMG Academy knifed right down the field before Hawkins crossed the goal-line from 1 yard out to extend the margin to 21-7 with approximately nine minutes left in the second period.

Myles hauled in a slant from Casuga over the middle and took it 35 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 6:28 until the half.

Kansas State commit Adonis Moise hauled in a reception from Hawkins down the right sideline with time winding under 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter to put the Ascenders ahead 28-14 at the intermission.

IMG Academy looks to bounce back Aug. 29 against No. 19 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), while Corner Canyon looks to carry its momentum against Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) on Aug. 30.
Four-star junior Helamen Casuga leads Corner Canyon to epic comeback win over IMG Academy. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
Four-star junior Helamen Casuga leads Corner Canyon to epic comeback win over IMG Academy. (Photo: Caleb Brown)

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