Welcome to the national stage
Jaxson Dart. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback showed a national television audience Friday what all the fuss is about as he threw for 277 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards more leading 14th-ranked
Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) to a resounding 42-20 win at a well-prepared and upset-minded
Bingham (South Jordan, Utah).
Dart threw two touchdown passes each to
Talmage Handle and
Noah Kjar and one each to
Cody Hagen and Jett Meine as Corner Canyon (3-0) fought off a spirited effort from Bingham to win its 29th consecutive game overall.
A transfer from Roy, Dart came into the game with big numbers, having accounted for nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns during two lopsided victories.
Jaxson Dart threw for 277 yards and six touchdowns leading No. 14 Corner Canyon to a hard-earned win at Bingham.
Photo by Dave Argyle
But with Bingham, led by legendary coach Dave Peck, giving the Chargers all it could handle in the first half, Dart responded. He completed 15 of 21 passes and when pressured, he moved beautifully out of the pocket to either run or complete long passes.
If Dart wasn't the very early leader for national Player of the Year, he is now. His three-star rating will likely rise as will his number of college offers which of Friday was at five: BYU, Fordham, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Yale. It figures many college coaches got a glimpse being that Friday's game part of the GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff schedule.
Many around the state figured this could be a blowout after Bingham dropped its opener 35-7 last week to Skyridge, while Corner Canyon, the two-time defending state champion, won its first two games by a combined 105-20 count.
But Bingham coach Dave Peck, who returned to the program after a five years away, told anyone who would listen that his Miners would be OK, that it had just suffered some many off-the-field setbacks, including three COVID-19 positive test results that accounted for a Week 1 cancellation.
The lopsided loss to Skyridge looked well into Bingham's rear view mirror as it controlled the clock and converted four fourth-down plays in the first half when it held the lead twice. Three of those conversions came on the same drive, including two on fake punts converted by
Parker Gurr who both ran for a first down and completed a pass.
Noah Kjar caught two touchdowns for Corner Canyon on Friday night.
Photo by Dave Argyle
That lead to a 2-yard touchdown run by
Saia Lomu to give Bingham a 10-7 lead with 7:41 left in the second quarter. Peck, who led Bingham to five state titles, looked like a genius.
But it took Dart just one play to put Corner Canyon right back on top with a 62-yard touchdown bomb to Handley, making it 14-10.
Once again, Bingham didn't go away, driving right down the field via a powerful run game, capped with
Nathan Chamberlain's second field goal, this one 23 yards (he earlier connected on a 42-yarder), making it 14-13 with 1:23 left in the half.
Dart then showed off all his many skills, accounted for all 90 yards, including 40 on the ground, during a vital TD drive to end the half. He capped things off with an 11-yard TD strike to Kjar, giving Corner Canyon a 21-13 halftime lead. By halftime, Dart had completed 10-of-13 passes for 170 yards, and rushed for 70 more.
He picked up where he left off on Corner Canyon's first drive of the second half, with a 22-yard jaunt setting up his second TD pass to Handley, a 35-yard strike, making it 28-13 with 8:37 left in the third quarter.
After the game's first turnover, it took Dart just one play to fire a 28-yard score — his fifth of the game — the first to Hagen to make it 35-13 with 6:37 left in the third, all but sealing it.
Noah Kjar (8) and two touchdown catches and Cody Hagen (3) one for Corner Canyon Friday night.
Photo by Dave Argyle
Corner Canyon center Jackson Light, an Oregon commit, battled all night with Bingham's rugged interior line.
Photo by Dave Argyle
Isaiah Glasker (12) had a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter for Bingham.
Photo by Dave Argyle
Bingham put up a good fight, especially in the first half, but couldn't prevent Corner Canyon from winning its 29th straight game overall.
Photo by Dave Argyle
Corner Canyon quarterback Jaxson Dart now has nearly 1,300 total yards and 17 touchdowns after three games.
Photo by Dave Argyle
