MT. PLEASANT — Before the Cedar Redmen were able to come away with a 17-13 win against a Dave Peck-led North Sanpete Hawks defense, they had to wait around in Richfield for a while.
Head coach Josh Bennett said the bus broke down in Richfield while traveling to North Sanpete High School and they were just barely in time for the game.
“I thought that might be a bit of a distraction, but it was good to get the win,” Bennett said.
Despite early-season offensive struggles, the Redmen were able to score more points in this game than they have in their previous two games combined.
Early on, it seemed the Redmen were in trouble. Hawks quarterback Spencer Steadman connected with Ky Mickel for the first touchdown of the game through the air.
The Redmen were able to respond when quarterback Michael Anker connected with running back Luke Maggio on a screen pass for a long touchdown.
The Redmen defense was able to keep the Hawks off the board the rest of the first half to keep the scored tied at 7-7 going into the break.
However, the Hawks did not want to be stopped in the second half. Steadman was able to run 30 yards into the end zone to give the North Sanpete the lead. The extra point was not good, so the Hawks took a 13-7 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Bennett said that during the fourth quarter, his staff kept running the plays that felt right, such as play-action passes, and they were working. His team also dug down and refused to lose.
After a 41-yard field goal by Zane Montgomery cut the lead to 13-10, Anker was able to find Tayvien Brown through the air for his second touchdown pass of the day, putting the Redmen up 17-13.
The Cedar defense, which has allowed just five touchdowns all year, was able to hold on for the rest of the game to secure the first win of the season for the team.
“(North Sanpete is) a tough team at home,” Bennett said, “I don’t think people give them enough credit for how good they are there. They gave us a lot of trouble with their waggle passes and we had to adjust to it.”
Bennett said he was very impressed with Trenton Maurer on Friday, as he had more than 100 yards rushing.
Luke Maggio had a rushing touchdown in the game as well that was called back due to an offensive penalty on the Redmen.
With Region 9 play starting next week, Bennett knows that he has to get his team ready for a fight.
“Region play is the most important thing (right now),” he said.
Next week, the Redmen will take on cross-town rival Canyon View to begin Region 9 play. Bennett will be playing his first game against Falcons first-year head coach Skyler Miller, who graduated from Cedar High and was part of the coaching staff there for eight years. The game will begin next Friday at 7 p.m.
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