High school football: West Jordan's offense too much for Payson

PAYSON — The biggest question of the night on the Payson football field was "exactly how many points are the Jaguars going to score?" The answer, it turns out, was 67 as they eased up a little in the fourth quarter.

The host Lions were very friendly all evening long, giving their guests looks at the end zone over and over again as West Jordan finally took the high-scoring affair 67-34 with one big play after another.

It all started in the first quarter as the Jaguars took charge early with three touchdowns. The most interesting thing about the first three touchdowns West Jordan put on the board, however, was just how similar they all were.

It was like deja vu over and over again when West Jordan quarterback Adam Boelter kept the ball, not once, not twice but three times for one yard runs into the end zone, giving his team an 18-0 lead as they missed on two point conversions all three times.

But the Payson offense finally woke up as the second quarter got underway, and within a minute and a half, the Lions picked up their first score as Brady Loveless grabbed a long pass out of the air from quarterback Colton Cannon and ran it down the sideline 72 yards for the score, making it 18-7 after Brayden Walker sent the extra point down the middle of the uprights.

But the Lions didn't have much time to celebrate as West Jordan came back only 23 seconds later on their second play of the drive and Boelter connected with Devon Parason on a 77-yard touchdown reception to give the Jaguars a 25-7 advantage.

The scoring continued through the second period as each team racked up three touchdowns in the period, giving West Jordan a 39-20 score at the half.

Cannon connected with Chris Robbins for a score for the Lions, and C.J. Oneal grabbed a pair out of the air from Boelter for 48 and 20 yards.

Both teams lost their tempers from frustration and rough play with penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct calls on each club.

The scoring continued in the third as West Jordan scored on a 24-yard reception from Boelter to Cammron Peacock less than two and a half minutes after the break.

But in yet another big break for a touchdown, Payson running back Loveless took the direct snap and ran down the right sideline for the 58-yard score.

After two more scores by West Jordan, the third quarter finally ended with the Jaguars up 60-27. And though both teams took out their starters in the fourth quarter, and Payson starting quarterback Cannon went down with a right leg injury, later called a bruise, they each managed one more score in the final period.