High school football: 5A all-stars paste 4A; 3A rolls over 1A/2A

SANDY — The state's top high school football recruits usually avoid playing in the annual all-star game to avoid injury. And perhaps because they have nothing left to prove on this level.

Players such as Pleasant Grove's Dallas Lloyd and Bingham's Tuni Kanuch were exceptions on Saturday night.

Lloyd, who will play at Stanford after serving an LDS Church mission, and Kanuch, the 2009 Deseret News Mr. Football, played instrumental roles in leading the 5A all-stars to a 27-9 win over the 4A stars at Alta High.

Lloyd tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Bingham's Ty Hannay and Kanuch came off the bench to help clear a path for Alta's Jordan Brown on a 13-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"You like to see that," 5A and Bingham coach Dave Peck said of top recruits participating in the annual all-star game. "I know in some cases, some of the universities didn't want their kids to play. Some said it's up to you. We had a number of guys play that are going to BYU, Utah State, Stanford."

Lloyd admitted he probably wouldn't have played in the game if he were headed to Stanford this fall. He played in Saturday's game like it was a regular-season contest, buying time in the pocket, scrambling and taking defenders head on.

"I figured I'd have a couple of years to heal if I got hurt," Lloyd said. "I'm glad I played. It was an awesome experience."

A couple of other players provided the 5A with an unexpected boost. Hannay was Bingham's starting quarterback last season, but played receiver in the all-star game. He looked as if it was his natural position, especially when he caught 5A's first score of the game.

"He's a great athlete," Lloyd said. "Right when I threw it, it felt like a good ball. I saw him snag it out of the air. It was sweet. He has really good hands."

Defensively, 5A's breakout star of the night was Cyprus' Owen Tauteoli. He recorded two sacks in the second half as the 5A defense took over.

"Our defense was awesome," Lloyd said. "We scrimmaged against them all week and I knew they would come through for us. They were tough."

After the 4A stars got the game close at 14-9, 5A's defensive players intensified their pressure. They made 4A's quarterbacks run for their lives for much of the second half, and Pleasant Grove's D.J Doman capitalized, recording two interceptions.

"I thought the defensive pressure was probably the difference in the game," Peck said. "Overall it was a good job — workmanlike, nothing flashy, just took care of business. It's a good group of kids."

The 4A stars opened the scoring when Sky View's Kyler Carlsen threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mountain Crest's Alex Knowles. The Lloyd-Hannay score gave 5A a 7-6 lead and 5A added to its advantage when Brown threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryker Hall on the final play of the first half.

Riverton's Dillan Draper scored on a 22-yard run late in the game to cap 5A's scoring.