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OGDEN — There's no better way to top off a week of homecoming festivities than by winning your school's football game in front of an electric student section who was the 12th man of the night. Weber did just that, defeating Layton 24-20 in what would become a late-game comeback.
After holding the Lancers to a three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Weber opened their first offensive possession with a 22-yard field goal from Jaycee Jones. It was an early lead against a team that has only given up 20.3 points per game.
Layton drained five minutes off the clock on the following possession and finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Gifford to receiver Brigham Lawon fading into the left corner of the end zone.
The Lancers, again, drained time off the clock to start the second quarter with a lengthy time of possession. After several runs by running back Elias West, including two that were called just inches short of the goal line, he bulldozed his way through the middle and found himself in the end zone to give Layton a 10-point lead.
The game seemed like it was going in the Lancers' way, but in a single play, a glimpse of hope was given to Weber.
On the ensuing kickoff, Weber returned the ball to the 35-yard line, which was called back to the 13-yard line after a holding penalty. But this wouldn't matter for senior quarterback Jake Lindsay. In just 38 seconds after receiving the ball, and on the first play of his team's drive, Lindsay found senior receiver Jett Hill streaking down the right sideline.
Hill beat out the lone Lancers defender in the backfield and Lindsay connected in stride for an 86-yard touchdown. This, however, wouldn't be Lindsay's only perfect throw and touchdown of the game.
Gifford answered back to start the second half and connected with receiver Nicolas Sanders on a 21-yard touchdown pass for the only points scored in the third quarter. But after going up 20-10, it was all Weber for the remainder of the night.
Lindsay cut into the deficit two minutes into the fourth quarter. On third-and-6, Layton's defense got pressure on Lindsay and forced him to scramble out of the pocket, but the quarterback found an open line and ran into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown, cutting into Layton's lead.
The Warriors got the ball again with just four minutes left in the game after their defense forced Layton to punt on back-to-back possessions. But Weber need no more than 45 seconds to completely change the game.
On what seemed like an impossible second-and-24, Lindsay found senior receiver Stockton Short ahead of his defender and landed another perfect pass for a 73-yard touchdown to make it 14 unanswered points and to closeout the game.
"Jake is a great leader and just a fantastic human being. He's never rattled no matter what the situation is; he's always calm and collected and just handles things the right way," Weber head coach Jayson Anderson said. "Those were big time throws that were on the screws and we ended up scoring and basically kind of changed the game."
Being down a majority of the game, Weber took the lead with 3:54 left in the game, but the game was far from over. The Lancers had plenty of time for one last opportunity to score, but the result was made final on an interception by senior Cannon Devries for Weber.
"There's no quit; there's no quit in these guys," Anderson said of his team's resiliency. "They play together and they're gonna stick with each other to the bitter end; and they just keep fighting. So I'm proud of these guys and what they've accomplished; they've done a good job."
With the win, Weber moves to 5-2 on the season and remains a perfect 4-0 in Region 1 play. The Warriors will host Olympus Friday while Layton (4-3, 2-2 Region 1) will host Clearfield.
