Lehi football holds off Maple Mountain despite mistakes
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- Lehi senior Kaleb Moore (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi senior Grayson Brousseau (33) lunges across the goal line for a touchdown during the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi senior Boston Fabrizio (22) breaks up a pass intended for Maple Mountain senior Easton Merrell during the non-region game in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi junior Paul Latu (54) drags down Maple Mountain junior Derek Morehouse during the non-region game in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi senior Kaleb Moore (11) slides to catch a touchdown pass during the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Banks Jackson throws a pass during the non-region game at Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi junior Paul Latu (54) and senior Christian Steuart tackle Maple Mountain senior Nic Hofheins during the non-region game in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Banks Jackson runs the ball during the non-region game at Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi sophomore Devaughn Eka tries to break a tackle during the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi junior Jett Niu throws a pass during the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
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- Lehi players run onto the field before the non-region game against Maple Mountain in Lehi on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
Early in the second half of Friday night’s nonregion football game against Maple Mountain at Lehi, the Pioneers certainly had to be feeling a little pressure.
The Golden Eagles had started the half by forcing Lehi to punt for the first time in the contest, then marched down the field and scored on an 8-yard TD run by senior Nic Hofheins.
The Pioneer lead was just 23-14 with plenty of time and Maple Mountain had some momentum.
But that was when Lehi seized control, ending the Golden Eagle hopes of an upset.
The Pioneers extended the lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from junior Jett Niu to sophomore Bryton Niu, snuffed out the next Maple Mountain drive with an interception by senior Isaiah Allen, then finished the scoring on a brilliant fourth-down catch by senior Kaleb Moore to close out the 37-14 victory.
“I think in the first half we started out slow,” Moore said. “But in the second half we executed better and played good football. We come to practice every day and work our butts off. Our plan was to come in and do our jobs, then everything else would take care of itself. That’s what we did in the second half.”
The touchdown that sealed the win was Moore’s second of the game but while his sliding TB grab to end the first half was a nice catch, the final one was much more challenging.
Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Jett Niu dropped back and spotted Moore open running toward the left sideline. The Lehi QB got the ball away just before being hit, resulting in the pass sailing behind Moore.
But somehow the Pioneer senior spotted it, stopped his momentum and was able to do a full 180-degree twist to snatch the ball out of the air while crashing to the ground in the end zone.
“I’m just glad I got the ball,” Moore said. “Jett really took a hit. It was an awesome experience.”
While Lehi head coach Ed Larson agreed that it was a great catch, he wasn’t happy with the mistake that allowed the pass rush to get to Jett Niu in the first place.
It was one of many examples of things he felt his Pioneer squad should’ve done better.
“I’m really disappointed that we lost our composure in a lot of ways,” Larson said. “It was not a good game for us. Obviously I’m happy with the win but with regards to where I want us to be we’ve got a ways to go.”
He credited his defense with making some good plays but said they needed more.
“I know my defensive staff isn’t happy that they had an eight-minute drive in the third quarter,” Larson said. “Give them credit for picking us apart but I think we also gave them three first downs on penalties. It’s not good from that standpoint. We’ve got to handle that better.”
Maple Mountain head coach Kalin Hall, on the other hand, expressed his satisfaction at seeing how his team battled against a tough 6A opponent who has now won 23 straight games and two straight 5A titles before changing classifications this year.
“Our kids don’t quit,” Hall said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against or what the circumstances are. The kids have learned to work through adversity, work through difficult situations, and to look beyond what the perception is. I thought our young men just played hard regardless of mistakes and being a little outmatched in certain situations. They just kept fighting and I’ll take that any day.”
He said he wants his team to clean up the miscues while staying confident moving forward.
“We can compete in any game we put ourselves in if we put ourselves in the right place at the right time,” Hall said. “That’s what we want to take from tonight. You want to be perfect in all areas that we can be perfect in and we want to never, ever quit, regardless of score or situation.”
Moore said the Pioneers have had a good start but know they can improve.
“We can get a lot better,” Moore said. “Our assignments were not as crisp as we want to be, but you just give us a couple more games and we’ll be top tier. We can be more explosive but we need to be brothers, be a team and lean on each other.”
Larson said that while he felt this game was a step backwards in some areas, that just means Lehi has to take two steps forward in their preparation for this upcoming week.
The Pioneers (4-0) will next host Herriman on Sept. 8, while Maple Mountain (2-2) welcomes Cedar Valley to Spanish Fork to start Region 7 play on the same evening.
Both games are scheduled to start 7 p.m.
