High school football: Alta scores in a variety of ways, tops Beetdiggers

SANDY — The Alta Hawks staged a variety show in Friday's 48-20 win over the Jordan Beetdiggers to open Region 1 play.

The offense showed the ability to strike with the big play as well as grind it out en route to over 600 yards gained, while the defense displayed an ability to pressure up front as well as cover deep. Quarterback Jordan Brown completed 15-of-19 passes for 397 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Zach Lis?ton. Liston tallied eight catches for 131 yards, and a cadre of running backs combined for over 200 yards as a unit.

"It was a real team effort," Hawks coach Les Hamilton said. "Special teams were great, offense was efficient and took what the defense gave them, and our defense made them drive the entire field."

Hart finished with 324 yards on 35 completions, connecting most often with the speedy Braden Hammond. Hammond reeled in 15 catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns.

The Hawks needed two plays to get on the board as Brown found Liston wide open for a 44-yard dash to the end zone. Alta's next drive didn't go as well as Duke Babka picked off Brown near midfield. Hart would later connect with Hammond to tie the game at 7-7.

The Hawks then used just five plays to score their next two touchdowns, helped by lengthy completions to Stephen Richards and Skyler Mayne on each possession. Meanwhile, linebackers Parker Hausknecht, A'l Ho-Ching and Nik Wolford continued to chase Hart around the Jordan backfield, holding the offense to minimal yards and short drives.

"The game ball has to go to our defense," Hamilton said. "They (Jordan) gained some yards, but the game plan was to come in and try to keep everything underneath. Our defensive scheme was phenomenal."

Alta would shift to a lower gear late in the second, eating over six minutes off the clock behind Bryan Finnerty and Brown's running. Unable to punch the ball in from inside the ten, the Hawks settled for a Vance Bingham field goal and a 24-7 halftime lead.

Alta opened the second half with another field goal, but the offense continued its varied attack with 24 points in the second half.

The Hawks briefly showed random frustration during a third-quarter Jordan drive. Two personal fouls were called on Alta: a late hit as Hart was going out of bounds and an unsportsmanlike conduct call directed toward an Alta assistant coach. Jordan would use the bonus yardage to bring the score to 34-14 after Hart connected with Hammond for a 14-yard touchdown.