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American Fork boys lacrosse can’t overcome early deficit, loses to Corner Canyon in 6A finals

By Jared Lloyd - | May 27, 2022
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American Fork player hoist the runner-up trophy after the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Zach Bezzant gets checked during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Camden Oswald falls down after scoring the first goal for his team during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Zach Bezzant (left) battles for the ball in the draw during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Camden Oswald jumps to snag a pass during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork and Corner Canyon players battle for the ball during the 6A championship game against at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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An American Fork players looks to pass the ball during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork keeper Jacob Cline lets the ball fly during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Austin Vitkauskas looks to shoot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior Jayden Reckling pumps up the crowd before the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork senior keeper Jacob Cline looks to block a shot during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork sophomore Luke Squire looks to slow the Corner Canyon attack during the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork players pump up the crowd before the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.
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American Fork players react to losing the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, May 27, 2022.

It’s tough to imagine more of a nightmare start than what the American Fork boys lacrosse team had in Friday night’s 6A championship at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman against top-seeded Corner Canyon.

Almost nothing went the Cavemen’s way in the first quarter as the Chargers appeared to be nearly unstoppable. Corner Canyon had four goals on the board before American Fork could get a goal from senior Camden Oswald, then tacked on five more to build a deflating 9-1 advantage.

“I told them that if we could control the first quarter, we would have a shot,” American Fork head coach Tyson Poole said. “Obviously we let things get a little out of hand.”

Since the Chargers beat the Cavemen 17-3 and 18-6 in their two regular-season meetings, things looked grim for American Fork.

But this isn’t a Cavemen squad that lacks heart or determination — and it showed for the rest of the game.

Instead of meekly accepting their fate, American Fork edged closer in the second quarter, then put together a huge run in the third to put the pressure on Corner Canyon.

“Coming out of halftime, we knew exactly what we needed to do,” Poole said. “These guys did their assignments. You are never going to hold Corner Canyon to no goals but if we could hold them to a couple, we would have a chance. We did it and we got close. I’m super-proud of them.”

As valiant of an effort as it was, the early deficit proved to be just too much for the Cavemen to overcome and they ended up losing to the Chargers, 15-10. That forced American Fork to accept the runner-up trophy while Corner Canyon won the state championship.

“We gave it our all,” Poole said. “Our guys are so sore. I couldn’t be more proud of them. But Corner Canyon is fantastic. They deserved it. They’ve had a great year.”

The Cavemen got big plays at both ends of the field in the second quarter to change the momentum, led by a pair of goals from junior Tate Fisher. The American Fork defense also tightened up as senior McKay Lock, junior Ethan Genessey and junior Ed Card increased the physicality and only let in one goal.

That set the tone for the big Caveman run to start the second half.

“We had a really good scheme,” Poole said. “It’s a game of transitions. We knew if we could control it, we would have a little bit better opportunity.”

First it was American Fork senior Noah Fisher scoring, then sophomore Luke Squire. Noah Fisher and Tate Fisher would score again — plus senior keeper Jacob Cline made some huge saves — and suddenly that impossibly-huge Corner Canyon lead was just three (10-7).

The Chargers finally found an answering score but Oswald would hammer home another great shot to keep the Cavemen close enough to be dangerous.

But Corner Canyon wasn’t the top seed and the overwhelming favorite for no reason and the Chargers showed it.

Although American Fork had some chances to get even closer, it was Corner Canyon who scored three straight to get some breathing room.

The Cavemen would get goals from Noah Fisher and Squires down the stretch but the Chargers got enough answers to hold on for the victory.

It may have not been the ending to the season American Fork wanted but it was still a fantastic year for the Cavemen, who defeated every opponent it faced other than Corner Canyon.

“We did well this year,” Poole said. “I’m very happy with the season we had.”

Players and coaches for American Fork, which came as the No. 3 seed, admitted after defeating No. 2-seed Davis in the semifinals that it was going to be a tough task to take down the Chargers but were determined to do their very best.

The Cavemen ended up having a performance that the program and their supporters could be proud of.

It won’t be easy for American Fork to maintain the same level of success, as they have 16 seniors in 2022.

“I’m a little nervous about having to replace 16 guys,” Poole said. “They have been everything to this program. Tonight was about them, about getting them to this moment, staying poised and enjoying it. They’ll never be able to do this again.”

But the next group will know what it feels like to reach the highest level of 6A boys lacrosse and should be driven to get back to Zions Bank Stadium in years to come.

“I want them to learn from this season that anything is possible as long as you stay committed to the process and buy into the schemes,” Poole said. “If you had asked me at the beginning of the season whether we would be here, every coach wants to say yes but I wasn’t quite sure. We had to make some changes and figure out what to do. Getting second place in our region and in 6A, this is awesome.”

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