Sorensen leads Thunder to win over Herriman
Westlake's Austin Morgan (4) runs the ball into the endzone for the extra point during the first half against Herriman at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Westlake's Sean Gero (2) runs the ball against Herriman players during the first half at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Westlake's Austin Morgan (4) and Pasifiki Tonga (63) celebrate a successful extra point attempt by Westlake during the first half against Herriman at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Westlake's Austin Morgan (4) runs the ball against Herriman players during the first half at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Westlake defenders take down Herriman's Francis Bernard (13) during the first half at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Westlake's Spencer Brown (3) gets the ball into the endzone for a touchdown against Herriman during the first half at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
Lightning may not strike twice, but thunder did tonight for Westlake as senior quarterback Joshua Sorensen recorded two rushing touchdowns and rushed for 182 yards for the Thunder in their 21-7 win over the Herriman Mustangs.
“Maybe we’re doing something wrong,” said Thunder head coach Jason Walker. “But we feel like we can play with anybody. We don’t care about how big or strong they are, we just focus on our assignments and when we do that we can compete with anybody.”
The Thunder defense was up for the challenge that many thought would be too much, starting off the game with a three-and-out and forcing a Mustang punt. The Mustang defense answered back with a three-and-out of their own, the only difference being a monster 69-yard punt by Westlake to pin Herriman deep in their own end of the field.
The field position would turn out to be key as the Thunder forced another three-and-out and got the ball back near mid-field. Sorensen capitalized on the short field, taking off for a 51-yard run down the four yard line. Three plays later Sorensen called his own number and took the ball the rest of the way into the end zone. The lead stayed 6-0 following a missed extra point attempt.
After a hard week of practice Sorensen hit the ground running and never looked back.
“We come out fast in full pads starting Monday,” Sorensen said. “We know we can’t just flip the switch on Friday night. We have to put in the work all week to be ready come game time.”
Herriman held the ball for the majority of the second quarter as they methodically moved the ball down the field. Tueni Lupeamanu capped off the drive on a seven-yard slant to Francis Bernard to give the Mustangs a slim 7-6 lead.
On the ensuing drive a 24-yard run by senior running back Sean Gero put Westlake deep into Herriman territory before a holding call would push them back to the 38-yard line.
Immediately following the penalty, Westlake coaches dialed up a reverse pass thrown by senior Taylor Riding that was hauled in by fellow senior Spencer Brown at the 4-yard line. Brown then made an athletic diving move to get the ball just inside the pylon to give the Thunder a 14-7 lead following a successful two point conversion.
The second-quarter trick play gave Westlake a spark and on the following kickoff, a message was sent to Herriman return man Canyon Hansen by junior linebacker Christian Garcia that the Thunder were in it for the long haul as he stopped Hansen dead in his tracks.
Sorensen would seal the victory for Westlake in the third quarter as he faked a hand off on a quarterback read and took it himself 75 yards down the sideline to the 10-yard line. After a penalty for each team, Sorensen took it the rest of the way in from three yards out to end the scoring for the night, giving Westlake a 21-7 upset win. Gero ended the night with 97 yards rushing and the team came up one yard shy of hitting 300 for the game on the ground.