Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Corner Canyon defeated Lone Peak 35-20 to win their third consecutive 6A title.
- Weston Briggs led with 170 rushing yards and four touchdowns in his final game.
- Coach Eric Kjar secured his seventh championship, tying for second-most in Utah history.
SALT LAKE CITY — When talking about some of the all-time great dynasties, the New York Yankees, New England Patriots and Chicago Bulls are typically mentioned. It's time to add Corner Canyon to that list, at least in the state of Utah, if they weren't already there.
For the second consecutive year, the Chargers defeated Lone Peak in the 6A championship game, outlasting the Knights 35-20 in a game that was tightly contested throughout the course of the game until the championship DNA from Corner Canyon started to shine bright.
The Chargers capped off its three-peat on the back of Weston Briggs, who exploded for 170 yards and four rushing touchdowns on the ground. Most impressive was that 155 of Briggs' yards came in the second half after Corner Canyon went to the break down 17-14.
"It's fun to see him do things the way he did today," Corner Canyon head coach Eric Kjar said. "He's been the heart and soul of our team. He's all football, he's all invested, he's special; I'm gonna miss him."
In Briggs' final game of his high school career, the senior helped the Chargers set the tone early and scored from a yard out to give Corner Canyon an early lead.
It was a gutsy first drive from the Chargers as they converted two fourth downs, with quarterback Helaman Casuga using his legs to pick up the first one and then he found Kai Meza a couple plays later for a 28-yard catch.
Lone Peak rattled off 10 unanswered points behind a solid run game of their own. Corner Canyon defenders struggled early to bring down the Knights' Tate Barney, who gashed the Charger defense for 67 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
Facing their first deficit of the game, Casuga found Meza, once again, for a big gain, this time for 27 yards. Casuga then took it in himself from 5 yards out to help Corner Canyon retake the lead.
It wouldn't last as Lone Peak's Isaac Fonua ran back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, only for it to be called back due to a holding penalty. Lone Peak retained great field position and their run game continued to punish the Chargers, with quarterback Kepa Niumeitolu scoring his own touchdown on the ground.
Corner Canyon tried to put some points on the board before the end of the half, but Tony Grimmer picked off Casuga after he was hit while releasing the football.
Another field goal from Jake Barker extended the Knights' lead to 20-14. It wasn't looking good for the Chargers, despite holding the Pula twins to just 84 yards in the game; they had no answer for Lone Peak's rushing attack.
"We had to be physical up front and be tough, and we weren't in the first half," Kjar said. "We were way better in the second half, just much better, much improved, tremendous physicality and toughness. So it was huge for us."
That uptick in physicality helped flip the script, and it was Corner Canyon's rushing game that took over in the second half, with the Chargers finally able to bottle up Barney and the Knights' run game. Barney was held to just 22 yards in the second half as Corner Canyon began to flex its muscle.
Two more touchdowns from Briggs helped the Chargers take an 8-point lead, and a lead Corner Canyon never relinquished.
Lone Peak had the chance to go down and tie the game with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. And it looked like it was going to be a wild ending when Niumeitolu found Kennan Pula for a 42-yard reception to give the Knights great position to potentially tie the game.
However, a goal-line stand for the Chargers put an end to a great drive. Corner Canyon's Josh Harris broke up a pass on fourth-and-goal to give the ball back to the Chargers.
Corner Canyon then rode the legs of Briggs, who got the Chargers back into scoring position and a chance to put the game away. With Corner Canyon lining up for a field goal, Lone Peak was penalized with an illegal substitution to extend the drive, and Briggs put the finishing touches on his legendary championship performance with his fourth touchdown.
The Chargers got one last stop before taking the victory formation and kneeling it out to take home the championship in their eighth straight appearance in the state final. Corner Canyon was able to avenge its 42-21 loss earlier in the year to the Knights, which may have motivated the Chargers in this one.
"Sometimes it takes a failure to bounce back, to learn as a team, to come together," Briggs said. "I felt like that loss was huge to help us bond together as a team. We worked hard, put in way more effort, held ourselves accountable, no selfishness, and it helped us get that win."
Briggs goes out on top as a champion, alongside his quarterback Casuga, who had high praise for his teammate after his performance.
"It's honestly amazing the leadership that he has off the field and on the field," Casuga said. "It's truly a blessing to have someone that, someone that has the ability to lead the team and be that voice for the team is truly remarkable."
With the win, Kjar now enters rare territory with his seventh championship as he now sits tied for second-most in Utah high school history with Dunn "Snyde" Taylor.
"You always tell them, It's not about the plays in the game, it's the plays like in practice, what you do there and what you do in the weight room and what you do, and every coach says it, but it's 100% the reason why we're able to be consistently a good team," Kjar said. "Without that, without work, you're nothing."
