PLAIN CITY — Corner Canyon' football team traveled a couple thousand miles to a different biome last week, swapping dry Utah for humid Florida, and still thumped West Broward (Florida) in what amounted to another flex of the Chargers' credentials outside of their home confines.
If they had any jet lag coming back to the Mountain time zone earlier this week, the Chargers (3-0) didn't show it in a 67-21 win at Fremont, punctuated by 36 unanswered points in the second half. It was the Chargers' 27th win by 40-plus points under head coach Eric Kjar.
Corner Canyon quarterback Helaman Casuga accounted for six touchdowns, with four through the air and two on the ground.
Early in the game, Casuga slung a touchdown pass to Diesel Dart with 10:02 left in the quarter, Mason Wood recovered a fumble on Fremont's first drive, then Casuga hit Scottie Pepper for a short TD on fourth down to make it 14-0 with 5:40 left in the quarter.
"Second half our offense was way better than the first half, we definitely just did a lot better executing and just making sure — trusting ourselves to do our jobs and trusting each other," Casuga said.
Fremont (2-1) came into the game undefeated, with its last 2-0 start to a season in 2016, which oddly enough is when it last went to a state semifinal. Fremont got here by blowing out rival Weber, then erasing a 21-0 deficit to beat Davis 35-34 in overtime last week.
The Silverwolves, despite trailing 14-0 early, got back within 14-7 thanks to a 1-yard Taggart Burton TD catch from Manase Tuatagloa. Then Fremont nearly tied the game as its next drive ventured to the Corner Canyon 1-yard line again.
This time, the Chargers' defense held with its heels on the goal line. Casuga finished the ensuing drive with a 23-yard TD run. Fremont got stopped in the red zone again on its next drive, and Davis Nelson made a 30-yard field goal as first-half time expired for a 24-7 halftime lead.
On one sideline, it was a show of strength so typical of the Chargers the last several years. On the Fremont sideline, it was a stark display of what happens, and how quickly it happens, when you don't take your chances against one of the state's elites.
Then again, Corner Canyon's two defensive stops in the red zone showcased yet another reason why the Chargers are looked at as one of the best in Utah.
"I think we have a lot of potential," Casuga said. "We have the talent, we have the coaches, we work our butts off every day."
Both teams traded two touchdowns apiece in the first six minutes of the third quarter. Salesi Moa took a screen pass 51 yards for a Fremont touchdown, Corner slashed right through the Silverwolves' defense and Kingston Fiefia Cooper ended the drive with a 2-yard touchdown.
Fremont's Cade Hadley scored on a 14-yard scamper to cut Corner's lead to 31-21, and the Chargers then scored three more times in the third quarter from a Casuga TD run, a screen pass to Weston Briggs from Casuga, and a 59-yard rush from Cooper to make it 53-21.
One last touchdown pass from Casuga to Jesean Mayberry made it 60-21 and started the running clock.
Backup quarterback Bronson Evans found Kelen Gold for a 13-yard touchdown in the closing minutes for Corner Canyon's final score. Fremont starts Region 5 play next week against county foe Bonneville. Corner Canyon hosts Liberty (Arizona) and Brighton before region play starts on Sept. 19.
