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CEDAR HILLS — No. 8 Lone Peak allowed a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of play against Las Vegas' Liberty High, but the defense found a way to recover and stop the ensuing 2-point conversion to seal a 20-19 win Friday.
"(The) defense just gutted it out," head coach Bart Brockbank said. "That was kind of a gut check. I mean, we let them score, but at the end of the day, I felt like we left a lot of points out on the field. Unfortunately, that's something we've got to fix, but a great team; those guys are tough."
The Knights are still working out some wrinkles in 2022 after claiming the state title last season, and many were still present Friday night: Quarterback Kaden Hodson threw three interceptions against the Patriots and is still learning on the fly.
But Hodson's highlight of the night came on a 15-yard touchdown run to put Lone Peak up 20-13 in the fourth quarter — the point-after touchdown ended up being the game winner.
"We need to be better at taking care of the ball. We can't have turnovers like that," Brockbank said. "But as far as Hodson's progression, he's progressing good. He's running the ball."
The Lone Peak defense came out aggressive from the start of the game and picked up a fumble on the Patriots' opening drive of the game. The Knights were held to a field goal but opened the second drive with a 33-yard pass from Hodson to BYU baseball commit Crew McChesney, younger brother of current Cougars running back Jackson McChesney.
Lone Peak gets the stop on the two-point attempt to all but seal a 20-19 win over Liberty. pic.twitter.com/wovl0ldYvA
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 27, 2022
Hodson and McChesney connected again on a lob to the corner of the end zone with 3:53 left in the first quarter to go up 10-0 in what appeared to be another statement victory. A field goal later in the quarter gave the Knights a 13-0 shutout lead after only the first quarter
The second quarter, however, was not kind to the Knights, and Hodson threw two picks before halftime. Liberty capitalized off the first interception with a goal-line dive to cut the lead to 13-7. On the ensuing Liberty possession, the Patriots marched down field but were held to a field goal.
Hodson's second interception came with 30 seconds left in the first half on a deep ball to the middle of the field.
"He can't throw the ball in the middle of the field high," Brockbank said. "He did that tonight, and that's not what we do."
Liberty picked off Hodson for the third and final time early in the third quarter. The Patriots looked like it was going to take the lead, but the Knights defense, once again, held firm and kept the Patriots to a game-tying field goal.
Later in the game, Lone Peak running back Brooks Wilde had a 38-yard run that was followed up by another mad dash to get the Knights inside the 10-yard line and a shot at the team's first score in the second half.
On the ensuing play, Hodson kept the ball for himself, broke a tackle, and dove across the goal line to lift Lone Peak to a 20-13 lead and what would later be the game-winning score.
Kaden Hodson keeps it and runs it in to put Lone Peak up 19-13 with 11:41 left against Liberty (Las Vegas). pic.twitter.com/0AqPZG6wMF
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 27, 2022
The Knights' defense was almost flawless in trying to protect the lead over the final 11:41 of the game, which included a third-down sack from Seth Dahl. The lone blemish came when the Knights allowed the Patriots to score a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the game, but the quick recovery to stop the 2-point conversion made up for it.
"I like to schedule teams that are big and physical and have a lot of talent in the preseason because I feel like that gets us ready for the region," Brockbank said. "The region's a gauntlet, you know, and I like that (this) gets our guys battle tested."
For Liberty, Friday night was its second game of the season, which followed a season-opening 39-7 win over fellow Las Vegas school Palo Verde last week. The Knights, however, were on their third week of play and second straight against an out-of-state opponent. Lone Peak dominated California's Alemany 49-20 last week to bounce back from a loss to Timpview in Week 1.
Lone Peak finishes off non-region play at home against Highland on Sept. 9, followed by the start of region play at home against Pleasant Grove on Sept. 16.
