KSL.com HS Football Top 20+1: Yet to play a home game, Corner Canyon still 6A contender

SALT LAKE CITY — Sustaining success can be hard in high school football, and in few places is the standard of excellence as severe as Corner Canyon.

The Chargers have been among the most consistent winners in Utah high school football since Eric Kjar took over before the 2018 season. With three-straight state titles from 2018-20 and a state record-tying winning streak, it's easy to see why.

But many wondered if Corner Canyon was the same ol' Corner Canyon in Week 2, when a rare loss at west coast power Bishop Gorman brought the Chargers down to mortality, if nothing else.

Suddenly vulnerable — or at least seemingly so — the Chargers had a certain mythos shattered by a 42-7 rout in Las Vegas as part of a four-game, season-opening road trip, but bounced back with a win over Bingham to prove they're still among the top teams to beat in 2022.

A chance to get right presented itself Friday night at Bingham. And Corner Canyon passed all the right tests, when Isaac Wilson threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, and the Chargers held off the Miners 38-28 in the top game of the week on the Wasatch Front.

"We definitely made some progress. At times, we looked really good and at times, I've been frustrated. And I know they are, too," said Kjar, who improved to 65-4 as a head coach and has never lost back-to-back games. "We can clean a lot of stuff up still. We're not anywhere near where we need to be yet.

"I love our kids, and I love how hard they're playing. We've just got to play smarter, and execute our offense better. Same with the defense; just execution. The effort and the willingness are there, but we've got to be more sound on our scheme. We have a long way to go."

On paper, the Chargers (2-1) have plenty of firepower, from four-star junior Wilson, the younger brother of New York Jets starter Zach Wilson who has offers from BYU, Miami, Oregon and a long list of other suitors; to BYU linebacker commit Owen Borg and Utah State cornerback recruit Ruben Otuafi to junior captain Kai Sevy; to two-way player Drew Patterson, who officially ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns against the Miners (2-1), though it may have felt like more.

But paper doesn't also sync up perfectly. And that's where Kjar is adjusting a year after losing defensive coordinator Casey Sutera and other staff members to Brighton.

It doesn't help that Corner Canyon opened the season with four-straight road games, an issue that Kjar never used as an excuse but was made more complicated when a bug traveled through much of the team coming home from Las Vegas and led to several starters — including Borg — being held out against Bingham.

Even with the absences, Corner Canyon has plenty of talent — right on down to Kjar's son, Tate, who caught a game-high six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to raise his season total to 348 yards and four scores in three games.

The Chargers have one more road game at a suddenly undefeated West Jordan team that beat up on Hunter 37-14 a week after shutting out Davis 34-0.

It doesn't get any easier, but neither does Corner Canyon's reload.

Here's a look at the latest KSL.com Top 20+1 after three weeks of the 2022 Utah high school football season.

1. Skyridge (3-0)

The path through 6A still goes through Region 4, where McCae Hillstead and the Falcons continued wrecking teams. This time, Hillstead ran for 73 yards and three touchdowns, and Tate Walker ran for 93 yards and another score as Skyridge shut out Herriman 43-0.

Special shout out to Smith Snowden, the highly coveted BYU and Utah target who returned an interception 14 yards for a touchdown.

2. Lehi (3-0)

It's hard to drop the Pioneers, who allowed their first touchdown of the year as Carson Gonzalez ran for 68 yards and two touchdowns, and Colorado State commit Jackson Brousseau added three more total touchdowns with 232 passing yards (on 21-of-26 passing) in a 42-7 win over Highland (Idaho) in Saturday's Rocky Mountain Rumble.

3. Corner Canyon (2-1)

Are the Chargers who we thought they were? We'll let you decide that for yourself. But are they still good enough to go toe-to-toe with any team in the state? That was evident after Friday night's win.

4. American Fork (3-0)

The Cavemen did most of their scoring in the first three quarters, including Tyson Eggett's 32-yard fumble recovery, to hold off West 20-13 in a decidedly defensive contest.

5. Timpview (3-0)

The Thunderbirds enjoyed the sun of St. George, where Helaman Casuga threw for four touchdowns in a 49-14 win over Crimson Cliffs.

6. Farmington (3-0)

Easton Wight completed 17-of-21 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns, and was off the field by the fourth quarter, as the Phoenix romped through Maple Mountain 62-7 to stay unbeaten.

7. Stansbury (3-0)

Utah commit Mateaki Helu ran for 174 yards and four touchdowns, and Ezra Harris threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns while running for 134 yards and a score as the Stallions outlasted Skyline (Idaho) 68-42 in a shootout.

8. Springville (3-0)

The Red Devils needed some Walker Deede magic again, but got it on the final play of the game (again) to rally past Bountiful 18-17.

9. Mountain Ridge (3-0)

It may be too late to buy stock in Cade Uluave, the Cal linebacker commit who ran for three touchdowns in the Sentinels' 51-33 win over Wasatch Thursday. But it's not too late to upgrade his backfield friend Semisi Kinikini, who had 205 yards and two scores against the Wasps.

10. Lone Peak (2-1)

Kaden Hodson, who had 142 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions, scored on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game winner as the Knights held off Liberty (Nevada) 20-19 for their second-straight win over an out-of-state program, bouncing back from an opening week loss to Timpview.

11. Bingham (2-1)

We're not sure what motivation will do for Bingham quarterback Dallen Martinez, who threw for 152 yards and ran for 97 more with two touchdowns in the loss to the Chargers. But we're sure Miners fans wouldn't mind finding out.

12. Riverton (2-1)

Jake Meyers threw five touchdown passes as the Silverwolves bounced back to hand Cyprus its first loss of the year 56-6 in Magna.

13. Layton (3-0)

Tyler Wensel ran for 38 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 138 yards and another score to help the Lancers stay unbeaten with a 41-28 win over Lewiston (Idaho) in another Utah-Idaho border-war showcase.

14. Timpanogos (3-0)

At a baseball power like Timpanogos, Luke Livingston hit for the cycle — throwing for two touchdowns, catching two more and adding another on the ground — to lift the Timberwolves to a home run 42-22 win over Hurricane.

15. Pleasant Grove (2-1)

Region 4 was already deep enough, but add in Pleasant Grove — where Nic Staffieri threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-0 flattening of Orem — and it might have just become terrifying again.

16. Viewmont (3-0)

It's no 73-16, but Luke Jacobs' total offense of 433 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-27 win over Copper Hills will keep the Vikings among the top 20 for another week.

17. West Jordan (3-0)

The Jaguars are 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09 after sophomore Dameon Crosby threw two touchdown passes en route to a 37-14 win over Hunter.

18. Orem (2-1)

The Tigers' early-season surge flipped around in a hurry in Friday's loss — and they welcome Skyridge to Tiger Way this week.

19. Park City (3-0)

The Miners scored 30 unanswered points to stay unbeaten with a 30-6 home win over Green Canyon.

20. Desert Hills (2-1)

The Thunder were rolled on a road trip to Spanish Fork, giving up 202 yards and two touchdowns to Joshua Buck in a 26-13 loss to the Dons.

Plus-1. Water Canyon (1-1)

For most, it was just a win over a fellow first-year eight-man football program. But for Water Canyon, a 76-0 victory that was called in the third quarter due to lightning and included 54 points in the first quarter was a milestone.

Water Canyon coach Heber Horsley said nearly all of his freshmen were playing by the middle of the second quarter of the home game in Hildale, a former Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint enclave led by Warren Jeffs where children weren't allowed to go to traditional school or receive a traditional education.

"If you would've told me this was going to happen, I wouldn't have believed you," said Terrill Musser, a Hildale City Councilman who has two sons on the football team. "This is a really big deal for our community and what we're trying to do here."

Related topics