1 / 4

Lehi quarterback Wyatt Bingham capped off the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run in Thursday's 34-6 win over Lone Peak

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

2 / 4

Lehi running back DeVaughn Eka was a workhorse during his team's 34-6 win over Lone Peak

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

3 / 4

Lehi's Haloa Makaio recovered a fumble late to stunt Lone Peak's bid for a comeback

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

4 / 4

Lehi's defense was dominant during the Pioneer's 34-6 win over Lone Peak

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

❮ ❯

After a relatively rough start to the season Lehi football appears to be peaking at exactly the right time.

On Thursday the Pioneers punctuated their rise with a dominating 34-6 win over Region 3 rival Lone Peak, leaving the home team not the least bit stunned and Lehi players exuberant in their celebration afterword.

“It feels amazing, and we got it done on defense tonight,” said Lehi defensive end Penisimani Takitaki after. “We take pride in our defense here at Lehi, and we hunt out there. Tonight we hunted some Knights. It was a big time game.”

Takitaki was central in his team’s defensive effort, holding Lone Peak without a touchdown throughout and scoreless for the final three quarters. Turnovers were created, defensive stops came a plenty, along with the rare component of shutting down the big plays usually made by standout Lone Peak receiver Jaron Pula.

“No deep ball, no nothing. That’s what you have to do against Lone Peak,” Takitaki said. “They’re a big play team, but they can’t march. So we knew if we shut down the deep ball, kept pressuring the quarterback that we’d get it done out there, and that’s exactly what happened.”

But it wasn’t all about the defense for the Pioneers on Thursday. After setting out to a 6-0 deficit in the first quarter, Lehi speedster and BYU commit Legend Glasker changed the entire course of the game, taking a kickoff 94 yards into the endzone to give his team a 7-6 lead. But even more importantly, the 6-foot-2, 175 pound senior provided a jolt of momentum that endured for the entirety of the game’s final three quarters.

According to Lehi coaches and players, it’s the sort of thing Glasker does quite often.

“Momentum is a big thing in this sport,” said Lehi Coach Andy Hadfield. “When you don’t have it, it’s tough to get it back, but you have guys like (Legend) and they get it back for you for the team to rally around. So we expect big plays from big players, and when they do it, it helps.”

“The whole state knows about Legend Glasker and what he can do,” Takitaki added. “He’s electric with what he does out there, and you get the ball in his hands and it’s going to be six points. If it’s not six points, then it’s going to be a big play, just about every time. He’s a dog.”

Lehi kicker Bode Hammond added 23 and 45-yard field goals before the half, on top of a 4-yard touchdown run from Briggs Love to give their team a 20-6 at the half, and as Hadfield pointed out, a great deal of momentum.

“That just lit a fire for us,” Hadfield added about Glasker’s touchdown return. “He’s a special player and you expect a special player to do special things with the ball in his hands. We try and get him the ball different ways…and he’s pretty special that way.”

Glasker led off the second half scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run before Lehi quarterback Wyatt Bingham topped things off with a 10-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter for the 34-6 final.

Through all of it was a tenacious Pioneer defense, led by Takitaki and dominant line play which completely frustrated Lone Peak’s otherwise prolific offensive arsenal.

“Our defensive coordinator is one of the best in the state,” Hadfield said. “We’ve come really far in our gameplans and our schemes. Defense is all about assignments. You don’t do your assignment, you make a mistake and teams like (Lone Peak) will make you pay for it. But the fact that we made less mistakes than they made (was big.)”

About the only mistake made by Lehi’s defense, if you can even term it a mistake, was a dropped interception by Takitaki in the flat that would have certainly been returned for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.

“I’m still not over that,” Takitaki said after the game. “I just didn’t expect their quarterback to throw it where he did. So I got too antsy and sort of jumbled my fingers trying to catch it, but it’s okay. We got it done with our pressure and holding Lone Peak to just six points on their home field is big time.”

Lehi has proved a big time team to finish out the regular season on the heels of two big wins over American Fork and Lone Peak. The Pioneers are now 6-3 for the season and will wrap up regular season play when they host Corner Canyon this coming Friday.

“The whole year we’ve been preaching about peaking at the right time,” Hadfield concluded. “Each week it’s about getting better and I think these guys have bought into it. Momentum has changed in our favor and the energy is back in this program. I think a lot of people wrote us off after three losses, but we never wrote ourselves off.”