With star quarterback Kepa Niumeitolu shelved for the time-being due to injury, the Knights received standout contributions from multiple personnel to pull off a rare three touchdown win over the Chargers. From a stingy defense that caused five turnovers and dominant line play on both sides of the ball, to a quarterback who looked like anything but a second-stringer, Lone Peak rose to the occasion and then some.

“It’s an awesome feeling, but we’ll see them again,” said Lone Peak senior defensive back Toa Tanuvasa. “It’s a great rivalry and it’s always great to beat them.”

It was Tanuvasa who effectively put the finishing touches on the win, picking off a pass late with Corner Canyon attempting to mount a comeback. It was his second interception of the night, with his first half pick preventing the Chargers in squaring things up going into the half, with Lone Peak maintaining a 28-21 lead at the break.

“Lots of film study and some great practices,” Tanuvasa credited for his standout performance. “I haven’t had (an interception) since the start of the season, so it was good to get those two.”

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Tanuvasa was one of many defensive contributors who worked in concert to hold a normally prolific Charger attack in check and scoreless throughout the second half of play.

“To shut out (Corner Canyon) in the second half is a great job by our defense,” said Lone Peak Coach Bart Brockbank. “(Defensive Coordinator) Ryan (Denney) did such a great job and so did Gary Trowbridge in calling the offensive play…but a shutout in the second half against those guys is a pretty big deal.”

As for Trowbridge, he spent the week coaching up Lone Peak backup quarterback Cruz Christensen, who met every challenge dealt to him on Friday. The junior slinged four touchdown passes and ran for another in belying his designation as a backup quarterback.

“I thought he was great tonight,” Brockbank said of Christensen. “He was poised. I thought he did really well managing the team, managing the offense. The thing about Cruz is he’d be starting at lots of other schools.”

“I definitely knew that Corner Canyon had a really strong defense and I just came in knowing what to do with my guys on the field,” Christensen said. “Getting the experience from these earlier games definitely helped me for this game.”

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

Christensen started the first two games this season with Niumeitolu serving a two-game suspension due to fighting in last year’s 6A state championship, which resulted in a 30-27 loss to Corner Canyon. On Friday, he benefitted big from the play of standout wideouts Jaron and Kennan Pula, with Jaron on the receiving end of three of Christensen’s touchdown tosses and Kennan receiving the other.

“Fifty-fifty balls become eighty-twenty balls with those two guys,” Christensen said regarding the twin brother’s ability to beat out most coverages. “You can’t miss with those guys.”

Never was the fact Christensen stated more apparent than toward the end of the first half, when he hit Jaron Pula from 34-yards out in a fourth down-and-15 situation. Christensen put a sufficient amount of air under the ball to allow Jaron to stretch over his defender and haul it in to give the Knights a 21-14 lead which then stretched to 28-21 at the half.

The back-and-forth play that defined the first half effectively ended in the second, with the Knights making strong adjustments to all but dominate the play for the final 24 minutes. A strong rushing attack, dominant line play and three interceptions kept the Chargers completely stifled on both sides of the football.

The defining drive of the second half came with a clock-chewing 17-play touchdown drive during the fourth quarter that ended with Lone Peak running back Sean Tahi plunging into the endzone from three yards out and 5:29 left on the clock to give the Knights a 35-21 lead.

Brandon Gurney, Provo Daily Herald

“Coming out of the half we wanted to establish the run…the goal was to eat up some time, score and force them into passing (situations),” Brockbank said. “…I thought the boys really stepped up tonight. Offensively we controlled the line of scrimmage during that second half…and defensively I was really happy with our front seven. I thought we controlled the front really well.”

As Tanuvasa mentioned, the odds are high that both teams will meet up again at some point in the playoffs, and perhaps again in the state championship. Considering Corner Canyon’s history under Coach Eric Kjar, key adjustments are sure to be made in the meantime to counteract the advantage set forth by Lone Peak in Friday’s win to perhaps turn the tables.

But as of Friday, Lone Peak established itself as top dog in 6A competition and subsequently the team to beat for the remainder of the regular season and into the state playoffs.

“It’s a huge win, but I think we need to move on, get to our next opponent and keep moving,” concluded Christensen.