High school football: Defense powers Juan Diego to win

DRAPER — With glossy undefeated records, Juan Diego and Springville knew their Friday night nonregion clash was the perfect measuring stick with region play just around the corner.

The 3A school is definitely more ready for league action than the 4A school.

In a match-up of teams both ranked in the Deseret News Top 20, Juan Diego dominated the line of scrimmage to pick up a convincing 24-6 victory.

"They had a lot of talented kids, but I thought we could match up with them and take them out of some of the things they do, we threw some new schemes at them that they hadn't seen," said Juan Diego coach John Colosimo.

Juan Diego's Lars Gunderson carried the ball 19 times for 102 yards and three touchdowns as his team racked up 202 yards on the ground. Defensively, the Soaring Eagle held an offense averaging nearly 30 points a game, well under its season average, by forcing five turnovers and putting all sorts of pressure on Springville quarterback Aaron Gray.

The senior finished the game completing only 19-of-44 passes for 226 yards, but he didn't get consistent help from his receivers, who dropped a half a dozen passes throughout the game.

Colosimo's team (4-0) hopes to carry the momentum into next week's region opener against rival Judge, whereas Springville (3-1) will try and regroup in its Region 8 opener at Payson.

Juan Diego's defense set the tone right away as Bruce Nix picked off a deflected Gray pass near midfield. Methodically the Soaring Eagle marched downfield only to settle for a 29-yard Jaron Bentrude field goal.

Juan Diego extended its lead to 10-0 with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter on another short scoring drive set up by the defense, with Gunderson taking it in from 17 yards out.

Gunderson scored again early in the second quarter on an eight-yard sweep as Juan Diego flexed its 3A muscles to open up a 17-0 lead.

Springville's offense stalled again, but ironically enough it proved to be a good thing as Thomas Day's 62-yard punt pinned Juan Diego deep in its own territory. Springville's defense forced a quick punt, and a fortuitous bounce set up the Red Devils at the 16 yard line. Two plays later, Gray connected with Alema Key on a 16-yard TD pass, cutting the lead to 17-6 following the blocked extra point.

The Red Devils had a chance to tack on another score, but Juan Diego defensive tackle Christian Ika intercepted a screen pass with 1:36 remaining in the first half.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com