From Deseret News archives:
High school football: Lancers down Knights in overtime
He was given the first shot to break the tie in overtime of his team's Region 1 showdown with Northridge on Friday night. The Lancers moved the ball from the 25-yard line to the 7, and then they gave Walker the chance to be the hero.
At first, he failed by hooking a 24-yard field-goal attempt wide left. Northridge, however, jumped offsides on his miss. Walker, a little frazzled, and yes, afraid, after missing his first attempt, then booted a 21-yard field goal through the uprights, giving the Lancers a dramatic 17-14 win over the Knights.
"I'm just so happy my team had faith in me," Walker said. "Without them, it never could have happened. I was just feeling good. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Layton senior quarterback Camren Applegate said he told Walker in the fourth quarter that the game might come down to his leg.
"He's a sophomore, but he's out here on Thursday nights kicking long kicks," Applegate said. "I told him we had all the confidence in the world in him and we do."
The Lancers still had to hold the Knights without a score following Walker's field goal, and they had their best defensive series of the game. They forced two incompletions and a 2-yard loss on a running play. The Knights then missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt to end the game.
It was a curious decision by Northridge to attempt the field goal, considering the Knights passed up two chances in the fourth quarter to try field goals in the red zone. They went for it on a fourth-and-5 at Layton's 10 early in the fourth, rather than trying a field goal, and they were stopped. And then with nine seconds left in regulation, they tried a pass play at Layton's 2-yard line rather than attempting a chip-shot field goal.
Northridge used its last timeout with nine seconds remaining and lined up for a field goal. Layton then called two consecutive timeouts to ice Knights kicker Ryan Reed. After the Lancers' second timeout, Northridge sent its offense back on the field and attempted to score a touchdown. Knights quarterback Junior Cole couldn't find an open receiver on the play and was sacked for a short loss.
The Knights opened the game on fire, racing to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Layton was flat and didn't appear to be in the same class as Northridge. But the Lancers took the game's momentum by making their first stop of the game early in the second quarter.
"We didn't match their intensity in the first quarter," said Layton coach Jim Batchelor. "After that first quarter, they were shaken confidence-wise. Ever since this group was sophomores they've started slow and then battled their butts back."
That was definitely the case on Friday. After getting that first stop, the Lancers put together an eight-play scoring drive, and Dylan Lytle capped it with an 8-yard touchdown run. Karl Williams then tied the game on Layton's next drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point conversion run on a direct snap from center.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half without scoring a point. The Knights' Kaleb Martin recovered a fumble at Layton's 25-yard line with less than two minutes left in the game. Northridge got down to Layton's 2-yard line before bypassing the field goal attempt on the last play in regulation.
"It's a huge win," Walker said. "It makes us No. 1 here in Layton. It's our city."
E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com
