- Skyridge defeated Mountain Ridge 52-17 in their season opener Friday night.
- Quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne threw five touchdowns and rushed for another score.
- Coach Justin Hemm praised his team's resilience despite a brief third-quarter setback.
LEHI — Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm was quick to shoulder the blame for the one moment Friday night when things looked even slightly shaky for his team.
Early in the third quarter, Mountain Ridge recovered a strip sack and turned it into a quick touchdown. Suddenly, the Falcons' lead was down to 11 — still comfortable, but no longer untouchable.
"That is what it is, right?" Hemm said. "They made a great play — came off the edge, got a sack fumble there. Ultimately, that's on me — responsibility there. I could have had a little bit different call in that situation, but the boys responded well after that."
That's putting it lightly.
The Falcons scored the final 24 points on Friday to run away with a 52-17 win to open the season at Skyridge High.
Quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne — who holds offers from both BYU and Utah — showed why colleges are lining up for his services, throwing five touchdown passes and rushing for another score. He spread the ball around, too, connecting with five different receivers on each of his touchdown throws.
"The first game is always tough," Hemm said. "You've got two weeks of camp and then you come out here. Mountain Ridge is a good team — coach (Nick) Robins does a tremendous job — and they're only going to get better. There were points in the game that kind of went our direction that allowed us to pull away a little bit."
Among those momentum swings: Sweetwyne hitting Diesel Hunter on a fourth-and-goal touchdown in the second quarter, and the Falcons' defense coming up with a fourth-down stop late in the half, which set up another score before the break.
Add in Skyridge finding their wings in the second half — early third-quarter turnover, notwithstanding — and things quickly turned into a rout.
"Each time you come out here and see the community, see the people here … it's a little emotional today," Hemm said. "But I'm super proud of our boys and how they responded."
