ALPINE — Moving the ball was no problem for Dixie Friday night at 5A Lone Peak. Holding onto the ball was, with mistakes and turnovers helping the Knights to a 47-21 win at home.
Dixie has had much success the past few years, but against LPHS, the Flyers found themselves in an unusual position. They were trailing Lone Peak 30-0 — three minutes before halftime.
“I know this sounds odd, but for the most part we were playing pretty well,” said Dixie head coach Andy Stokes. “We were moving the ball. We were executing our game plan. But we got killed by the unforced errors.”
Dixie would turn the ball over twice by fumble and a third on downs for its first three possessions. The Knights took advantage each time. Dixie finally got on the board seconds before the intermission. Quarterback Jacob Barben found wide receiver Josh Topham with a 35-yard pass to cut the deficit to 30-7.
In the second half, Dixie matched Lone Peak possession for possession. The Flyers had another miscue that led to a defensive touchdown, but Dixie cut down on the mistakes the rest of the game and capitalized on big plays in the passing game.
Barben found Hobbs Nyberg for a 98-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to pull the Flyers to within 33-14. Later in the fourth, Barben found Topham for his second touchdown catch on a 60-yard pass to cut the lead to 40-21.
The Knights would add another score at the end of the game to get the final tally to 47-21.
“We played much better in the second half,” said Stokes. “We cut down on our mistakes.”
Barben had over 450 yards passing and three touchdowns. Nyberg had 245 yards receiving. Topham gained over 100 yards receiving. Ammon Ah Quin gained 90 yards rushing.
The Flyers fall to 0-2 and will play at Alta next week.
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