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Cedar Valley and Payson players line up for a play during the Region 7 contest in Payson on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Brian E. Preece, Herald Correspondent)

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Payson players take the field before the Region 7 contest against Cedar Valley in Payson on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Brian E. Preece, Herald Correspondent)

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Cedar Valley kicker Elijah Holman kicks a field goal during the Region 7 contest in Payson on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Brian E. Preece, Herald Correspondent)

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Payson players take the field before the Region 7 contest against Cedar Valley in Payson on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Brian E. Preece, Herald Correspondent)

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There was a lot of excitement in the city of Payson Friday night with the Onion Days celebrations and fireworks, along with a Region 7 football game between visiting Cedar Valley and the Payson Lions.

But it just wasn’t the extracurricular activities that brought a spirit of optimism. The Lion football team entered the contest with a sparkling 3-0 record and inspired play that carried into the early stretches of the game.

But in the end, Cedar Valley was too big, too fast and too experienced and ended up defeating Payson, 42-16.

The game was close at half with the Aviators ahead by just two points, 18-16. Then Cedar Valley wore down the Lions and scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to an easy win.

“We were hoping for that the whole game,” Cedar Valley head coach Weston Zabriske said. “Give them credit. Their coach (Mark Murdoch) has put together a great program and they had won three in a row and came in with a lot of confidence. We had to establish ourselves physically, and we did it well in the second half.”

Payson actually only scored one offensive touchdown in the game as the Aviator defense was dominant. Leading the charge was Bryan Vogl, who from his defensive line position wreaked havoc. He even made plays on special teams, blocking a punt that led to an Aviator touchdown.

“Bryan (Vogl) is a special kid,” Zabriske said. “He’s started for us since he was a freshman. He’s just a junior and about all our defensive line are juniors. He (Vogl) really dominated the game and we’re excited about what he did, and we hope he keeps it up in the next several weeks.”

Joining Vogl on the defensive front was Aisea Langi, So’i Saaga and Matt Murdock, and all four made plenty of plays.

The Aviators had its share of offensive heroes as well.

Making his first start at quarterback was Easton Schank who passed for two touchdowns, one to Vogl and another to Lucas Peck spanning 40 yards, while running for two more scores in the final stanza to put the game far out of reach.

Running back Joe Lomu was very effective running the ball and scored one touchdown for the Aviators.

On special teams Elijah Holman also booted two field goals.

Payson got some noteworthy efforts as well.

Rett Robinson electrified the crowd with a 98-yard interception return and Brandon Judd nailed a 47-yard field goal. Kelton Smith had a 25-yard touchdown which actually gave Payson a 7-6 lead early in the contest. Cash Muir excited the home faithful with a strip sack that led to fumble recovery and 10-yard return by Josh Webber.

But in the end, the size and athleticism of the Aviators wore down Payson giving the Lions their first loss in both Region 7 play and on the season. Meanwhile, Cedar Valley improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Both teams will host games next week as the Aviators return home to take on Tooele (4-0, 2-0) while Payson will play Timpanogos, also 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in league play.

Notes: The game was well attended as both schools had a lot of fans. With Onion Days events and fireworks after the game, parking was hard to find. The game commenced at 6 p.m. versus the normal 7 p.m. start so the fireworks could start at 10:00 p.m.

Cedar Valley showed it could contend for a region title in just its third year as a program. Stansbury remains the favorite to win the region while Tooele has staked itself out to a 2-0 record.

Region 7 might be one of the more interesting leagues to track as the season unfolds. The league consists of programs that have struggled in recent years or 4A programs making the jump to 5A. Payson played an independent schedule last year as did Timpanogos. Meanwhile, Cedar Valley, Mountain View, Stansbury, Tooele and Uintah competed in 4A last season.

Box score

Cedar Valley 16 2 10 14 — 42

Payson 10 6 0 0 — 16

CV-Bryan Vogl 5 pass from Easton Schank (kick failed)

P-Kelton Smith 25 run (Brandon Judd kick)

CV-Lucas Peck 40 pass from Schank (Elijah Holman kick)

P-Judd 47 FG

CV-Elijah Holman 25 FG

CV-Safety

P-Rett Robinson 98 Interception Return

CV-Holman 20 FG

CV-Joe Lomu 2 run (Holman kick)

CV-Schank 1 run (Holman kick)

CV-Schank 5 run (Holman kick)

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