High school football: Jaguars, Adam Boelter torch Copper Hills

WEST JORDAN — West Jordan's offense did just fine without Adam Boelter and Martavius Redmond. Having them back made the Jaguars all the more dangerous Friday against Copper Hills.

Boelter threw five touchdowns — four to Redmond — and ran for two more scores en route to a 49-16 dismantling of the Grizzlies in the Region 3 opener for both teams. Boelter, out since breaking his collarbone in the season-opener, showed little rust at the controls.

"He's very accurate and is a great leader," Jaguars coach Mike Morgan said of Boelter, who had a metal plate screwed into his collar bone. "We're glad to have him back, especially with our region being so tough."

West Jordan (3-1 overall), which has scored at least 37 points in every game this season, built a 42-0 halftime lead thanks to Boelter and Redmond, who returned from a week's absence due to a bruised kidney. Redmond caught a dozen passes for more than 200 yards.

Copper Hills, meanwhile, didn't have the ball long enough to make things happen. West Jordan's spread offense kept plugging along with machine-like efficiency, gaining yardage in chunks.

"It's a lot of fun to be in this offense," Boelter said. "I've got so many dynamic players around me and a great line in front of me. That makes it easy for me. We want to jump out to a great start and keep the hammer hard. We still feel like we could have done a lot of things better."

Boelter had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter, then threw four scoring passes in the second, finding Redmond three times. The final connection came on the last play of the first half.

"These guys take a lot of pride in scoring every time they have the ball," Morgan said. "You're always wanting to be better, that's just the selfish part of it. Efficiently, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We put up the points. We always want to set the tone of the game early."

DeShawn Perkins also hauled in a touchdown pass from Boelter, who completed 35-of-44 passes for 346 yards. Michael Moorehead, who filled in while Boelter was injured, finished the game.

Although West Jordan's offense hasn't had trouble scoring this season, it wasn't until Friday that its defense came through. The Jaguars, who had allowed 103 points through the first three games, surrendered just 16 points to the Grizzlies. Brendon Hoskin threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jake Smith and Adam Talbot for Copper Hills, which remained winless (0-4).

Both teams struggled running the ball, though the Grizzlies' Tommy Ligman gained the bulk of his 67 yards in the fourth quarter. As efficient as West Jordan was passing the ball, the run seemed like an afterthought.

"We're never satisfied," Boelter said. "We've got to stay hungry."

The Jaguars host Pleasant Grove in their next region game.