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AMERICAN FORK — As the final seconds ticked off the clock on American Fork’s win over crosstown rival Lone Peak, students, parents and faculty flooded the field Thursday night.
It had been more than six years since the Cavemen last beat the Knights, and Zach Katoa made sure there was little doubt.
Katoa piled up 187 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries, and added two receiving touchdowns for 33 yards to help the Cavemen (5-1, 3-0 Region 4) beat the Knights, 51-24 for the first time since 2006.
“Coach said he wanted to run the ball, and he wanted to be real physical with the line,” Katoa said. “I was looking forward to banging for every yard I got. The O-line played tough.
“I thought the O-line did all the dirty work, and I just popped into the end zone.”
Katoa grounded away all game, only popping up for double-digit yardage twice. Fellow running back Nate Honey used that softening to explode for 148 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, including a 52-yard scamper in the first half that helped set the tone for American Fork.
“It’s a rivalry, so we were just going to come out and hit them in the mouth,” said Katoa, who holds an offer from Utah State. “We knew we were the better team, so we came out and punched them in the mouth.”
The Cavemen ran the ball 53 times, and quarterback Tanner Smith completed 12 of 17 passes for 176 yards and his two scores to Katoa.
But the Knights (2-4, 0-3 Region 4) kept hanging around early thanks to several big plays. David Flake took a 65-yard pass from quarterback Talmage Gunther to the end zone on the first play of the second offensive series for Lone Peak, and Jackson McChesney’s five-yard TD run kept the game tied at 14-14 after the first quarter.
Katoa scored after a clock-eating, 13-run drive that spanned more than six minutes in the second quarter, and the Cavemen added a safety on a high snap during a punt.
But it only took Gunther six seconds to find Caden Humphrey with a 20-yard pass to pull Lone Peak within 23-21 at halftime.
Katoa snagged an interception just before the break, though, signaling American Fork’s next responsibility: defense. The Cavemen allowed only a Sam Kramer 23-yard field goal in the second half, shutting out the Knights in the fourth quarter.
Gunther finished with 149 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 7 of 22 passing, as well as 73 yards on 11 carries for Lone Peak that included a 44-yard scamper in the second half that nearly went for a touchdown.
“We have a new mentality,” Katoa said. “We trust in the coach, and believe that we can take it all. We’re not going to stop. We’re just going to keep going.”
