High school football: Jaguars back in playoffs after trouncing of Kearns

WEST JORDAN — Missing the playoffs three straight seasons was enough for the West Jordan Jaguars.

Faced with the possibility of staying home again in an elimination game against Kearns, the Jaguars dominated the Cougars on Thursday night, earning a 50-14 victory. The two teams entered the contest tied for Region 3's final playoff berth and West Jordan will move on to the postseason next week, playing either Lone Peak or Pleasant Grove in the first round.

"These kids have earned it," said Jaguars coach Mike Morgan. "It's exciting for the school and the community. We're excited. It's something we set early in the year as one of our goals."

West Jordan lost its season finale to Kearns the last two seasons, ending the team's playoff hopes. The Jaguars say they weren't motivated by revenge on Thursday, but it sure seemed like it.

The game's outcome was never in doubt, as West Jordan scored on its first five possessions and didn't allow Kearns to make a first down until there was 7:14 left in the third quarter. Jaguars quarterback Adam Boelter played just one series in the second half, and completed 20-of-32 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns.

Boelter left the game with West Jordan leading 44-0.

"We felt like it was going to be a hard-fought battle like it's been the last few years," Morgan said. "They're a well-coached team. We had some things go our way. We didn't expect to jump on them like we did."

Jaguars receiver C.J. O'Neal capped his spectacular regular season by settling the state's single-season record for receptions. He had eight catches to push his total to 90 receptions this season, bettering the old mark of 86 receptions set by Fremont's Austin Raught in 2004.

"C.J. has come a long way," Boelter said. "He's starting to do the little things and we've gotten big contributions from him. He's a great player, and definitely one of my go-to guys."

West Jordan's defense did its part in helping the team jump out to a big lead. Dustin Christensen set the tone early with a quarterback sack. Junior Lapale and Jordan Loveridge combined on another first-half sack and Cammron Peacock and Cody Burns each recovered fumbles.

Boelter had a hot hand early, completing his first seven passes. Two of his touchdown passes went to Deshawn Perkins, one went to Peacock and Johnny Collins caught the other.

"The thing about Adam is he's so even-keel," Morgan said. "You'd be hard pressed to find another quarterback as accurate as Adam is. He makes those receivers better."

The Jaguars will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2005 when they advanced to the state semifinals and lost to Skyline on the Rice-Eccles turf.