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HIGHLAND — Thursday's opening night of the 2023 high school football season wasn't Jackson Blake's first start as Lone Peak's quarterback, but the senior used the platform to welcome himself to the party.
Blake threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns as the Knights took a 17-7 halftime lead, and never looked back en route to a 27-7 win over Bingham.
"I was really happy about today," Blake said. "We felt like we had something to prove coming into this, and our O-line did great. My receivers were awesome. And that defense? 7 points? I'm really proud of them."
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound first-year starter was given carte blanche to make reads and check down or out as necessary by offensive coordinator Gary Trowbridge after his summer of extra workouts, receiver drills, and weight training. But if Blake ever felt nervous, he only needed two throws to show what he could do in leading the Knights to a revenge-game win over a Bingham team that eliminated Lone Peak from last year's 6A state playoffs.
The senior hooked up with Jasean Mayberry for a 77-yard touchdown in the first quarter, then connected with Brooks Wilde on a 61-yard score on the next possession to give Lone Peak (1-0) a 14-0 advantage with 10:31 left in the half.
Blake and his circus act of pass catchers that included Mayberry, Wilde, Trey Robinson, Gabriel Tom, Logan Hofheins and Seth Haskett made plenty of plays to make just about any quarterback look good.
"They make me look good," Blake said. "I wanted some of those (throws) back, but they made me look good. Some of those catches they were making made me look good."
.@LPHSKnights deliver the first game day of the season in a helicopter ….
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) August 11, 2023
And we are off 🚁 🏈 pic.twitter.com/1EqwHVAXVQ
Blake threw for 254 yards with the two touchdowns in the first half, outgaining the Bingham offense with only his arm.
After falling behind 14-0 on Wilde's score, the Miners (0-1) tried to come back.
Carson Sudbury scored on a 5-yard touchdown from Anthony Salazar — helped significantly by Salazar's 40-yard completion under duress moments earlier — to pull Bingham within 14-7.
After Adam Connors hit his first of two field goals from 47 yards out with 3:50 left in the half, Salazar led the Miners all the way to the 2-yard line with a chance to pull within 3 points in the final minute of the half. But Bott Mulitalo sacked Salazar with seconds to go, and a last-ditch field goal try kept the Knights' 10-point halftime margin.
"I was a little nervous that our offense would be a little behind, breaking in a new quarterback," Lone Peak coach Bart Brockbank said. "But I think Jax played really well. We originally thought we'd be more balanced, but we came out passing, and I thought Jackson handled it really well."
Lone Peak capitalized on a muffed punt on the opening drive of the second half, as Blake connected with Robinson on a 14-yard strike in the southeast corner of the end zone, and Ryan Denney's defense did the rest.
Mayberry finished with 97 yards and a touchdown, Robinson had 73 yards and a score, Wilde added 82 yards and a touchdown, and Tom supplied 27 yards through the air.
"I think he's got a lot of faith and a lot of trust in them," Brockbank said. "I would argue that he had another touchdown early in Trey's amazing catch that they didn't call. But Jackson just kept with it, after he was a little bummed after that first drive. Then they just started getting in a rhythm. It was really nice."
Lone Peak hosts 5A contender Timpview next Friday, while Bingham returns home to host 4A Crimson Cliffs.
