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SALT LAKE CITY — With Corner Canyon visiting Jordan High School, there was no lack of storylines.
Whether it was Chargers’ head coach Eric Kjar returning to the school where he had coached for years before moving on to Corner Canyon, or the fact it was senior night for Jordan.
No story is more compelling than two teams that are undefeated in region play meeting in the last regular season game of the year. The winner would claim the region seven No. 1 spot. And it was Corner Canyon that finished the regular season undefeated and the region seven champions.
Corner Canyon defensive lineman Van Fillinger sealed the victory for the Chargers after he caught a tipped pass and escaped for a 60-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t look back once," Fillinger said. "All I saw was the end zone.”
Jordan's final attempt to equalize ended when Chargers corner John Scheffner intercepted a pass from Jordan quarterback Christian Bruderer with 1:41 left in the game, sealing a 28-20 win over the Beetdiggers.
“Our team is tough man, Jordan is a good team, too. But we were able to come through with a win.” Corner Canyon junior defensive tackle Van Fillinger said. “We fought through so much adversity this season that I feel like we can beat anyone. I don’t say that to be cocky or anything, I just believe that from the heart.”
Both teams are powerhouses on offense — Jordan averages 30.4 points per game . and Corner Canyon averages 47.1 points per game — But on Wednesday, it was more of a defensive battle with both teams scoring below their average.
Another region title was decided tonight ... Here's @JJSportsBeat with Corner Canyon's impressive win over Jordan for a top seed in the 5A state playoffs: pic.twitter.com/RFsy3QP06D
— KSL SportsBeat (@kslsports) October 18, 2018
The game started out with a couple of stalled drives by both teams. Jordan was later forced to punt, pinning Corner Canyon on the 6-yard line. After a first-down run to the 16-yard line, senior Caden Johnson escaped for an 84-yard run straight up the middle of the field for the game's first score.
Jordan would later tie up the score in the second quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bruderer to senior receiver Ethan Bolingbroke, who was a major component of the scoring drive that started in the first quarter.
Corner Canyon, though did not waste any time answering back when Chargers quarterback Cole Hagen connected on back-to-back passes of 28 yards and a 45-yard pass to his 6-foot-4 receiver John Mitchell.
After a Beetdigger interception and a few three-and-out series, Jordan again scored after Bolingbroke got the team on the Corner Canyon 16-yard line. Bruderer then threw a fade route to receiver Tommy Morgan, who went up and made an incredible catch over the defender in the end zone for the score.
But with just over 2 minutes remaining in the half, Corner Canyon moved the ball down field quickly for their third touchdown of the night — a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Johnson.
The two programs battled it out defensively in the second half until Jordan's Bruderer scampered in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown with time nearly expiring in the third quarter. But a failed extra-point attempt left the Beetdiggers with a 1-point deficit.
Both Jordan and Corner Canyon will host first-round games of the 5A Classification playoffs on Oct. 26. Jeff Thomas