Lehi routs Ben Lomond, ends loss streak

LEHI — It was the end of a 20-game losing streak. It was a breakout game for a former quarterback, and overall it was celebration time for the Lehi Pioneers as their football team finally put one in the win column, 47-12 over Ben Lomond.

Chris Searle started the season as the Lehi quarterback, but after running back Travis Smith went down with a torn ACL, he moved over and became the Pioneers' new running back. And he made the most of it with 250 total yards in only three quarters of action and three touchdowns. He earned the fourth quarter rest.

"He's a good player. We know he's going to give us speed on the perimeter, and he's going to get touches. He's a good addition back there," said Lehi coach Derrick Peyton.

It was Searle who gave Lehi the boost it needed to break its enormous losing streak, and he took over right from the beginning, breaking a pair of runs down the right sideline, both of them leading to first-quarter scores.

The first he broke open for 36 yards, after which quarterback Jason Demke connected on a touchdown pass to Clint Ash for the first score of the game.

The second he broke for 54 yards, which set up his eventual five-yard scoring run. He finished with 118 yards in the first quarter and 150 in the first half.

He then added a score on a 39-yard run in the third quarter before scoring one more time on a one-yard run to put his team ahead 40-12 and give him some rest time in the fourth.

But Searle wasn't the entire story for the Pioneers as they came up with seven Ben Lomond turnovers, four picks and three fumble recoveries.

Ash scored from 30 yards out after picking up the fumble by the Scots.

And the team shut down important Ben Lomond drives with its tough defense.

"Turnovers are the key. They kill drives, get stops and then you can grind time off the clock," said Peyton, who added that he was a bit upset with his players in the first half, after they missed opportunities on seven more possible picks.

But though he knows his team has plenty of work to do, he's happy to "get the burden of our losing streak off our chests," he said.

Calvin Grey, who only played a few downs in his return from injury, also scored on a 12-yard run for the Pioneers, and the scoring finished in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Jordan Smith.

Ben Lomond was able to break the goal line twice in the first quarter, once on a 76-yard pass from Max Welling to Victory Jackson and once on a 13-yard pass from Walling to Jared Jackson.

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