High school football: Woods Cross dominates up front against Olympus

WOODS CROSS – Woods Cross found success on the ground, through the air and on the defensive side of the ball in its 27-9 Region 6 victory Friday over Olympus.

The key for the Wildcats (1-0, 3-1) was the line — on both sides of the ball. The offensive line provided holes all night for the Woods Cross runners, while rarely allowing Olympus (0-1, 3-1) through to pressure quarterback Tyler Parson.

"Our offensive line won the game for us tonight," said Parson. "We were able to throw the ball and then we relied on the run for an entire drive. It's tough to play defense when the other team is successful with both the run and the passing game."

Woods Cross scored on its first possession after CJ Corry grabbed Parson's pass and broke free for 47 yards. Olympus answered, connecting for a 26-yard field goal by Stephen Hendriks and a one-yard touchdown by Terry Isaia to go up 9-7. But the Titans hurt themselves later on a face-mask penalty that gave Woods Cross a second chance on fourth down as the second half was concluding. The Wildcats made the Titans pay, scoring on the next play as Parson connected with Mark Evans for a 26-yard touchdown. Michael Clark added the extra point to put the Wildcats up 14-9 at the half.

The Wildcat defensive line controlled the second half, holding Olympus to only three first downs. The line also kept standout runner Isaia to 107 yards on the night. Aaron Markisich picked off Spencer Harris twice in the final quarter and scored on one of the interceptions.

"Our defense played great tonight," said Woods Cross coach Fred Fernandes. "Olympus has a great running back and our guys were quick to the ball to stop him."

After finding great success with the throwing game in the first half, the Wildcats put together a 94-yard scoring drive solely on the ground in the third quarter. Corry and Parker Rose carried the load, with Corry capping it off with a 12-yard scoring run. Rose finished the night with 114 yards, while Corry had 79 rushing and 53 receiving yards. Corry also added nine tackles.

"CJ (Corry) is just a stud," said Fernandes. "You can always count on CJ giving 120 percent on every snap."

The win gives Woods Cross its best start in quite awhile with cross-town rival Bountiful up next week.