The Emery Spartans hosted their first home game of the season on Friday. They were set to face Roosevelt’s Union Cougars. Before the game was set to begin, a rain storm was lingering around Emery County, causing a rain delay. When the storm eventually cleared, it was time to hit the turf.
The first quarter had both teams showing great defensive sets and strategies, making it tough to move the ball for the opposing team. The clock would hit zero, and the first quarter was over, with both teams still awaiting a score. It was the same story for the better half of the second quarter, until Emery would finally find the endzone. Treven Gilbert found Braxton Butler with a great screen pass up the middle. Butler would go 21-yards, breaking a few tackles on the way for the score.
After a missed PAT attempt by the Spartans, the Cougars marched down the field, getting into the redzone position. Union’s Tanner Womack would find Dylan Murphy-Watahomigie for a perfectly placed 10-yard touchdown. The Cougars would have a successful extra point, bringing the score to the end of the half, 7-6.
Emery would start their own march down the field with time running low in the third quarter. Boden Christman then barged into the endzone for the 1-yard touchdown and the Emery lead. The Spartans were in need of a two-point conversion to get the score to a seven-point lead. Braxton Butler put his head down and went through the great opening the offensive line made for him.
It was now the beginning of the final quarter, with the score at 14-7. The Cougars weren’t ready to call it a game yet, driving the ball up the middle with force, to eventually get the touchdown and the extra point. With 10 minutes left, the game was all tied up at 14. Boden Christman would get his number called, with help once again from the perfectly executed offensive gap made by the line, for a gain of 29-yards.
Jaxon Johnson would run the sweep, cruising by the defenders for the Emery touchdown. After a successful extra point, the lead was now the Spartans, 21-14. With six minutes remaining in the game, the Cougars didn’t stray away from the run game, eating up the clock as the game dwindled down to the final minute.
The Cougars would find the endzone with a 2-yard run, with 31 seconds remaining on the clock. The choice was to either go for the extra point to tie the game, or go after the win with a two-point conversion. The Union coach called a play, going for the win on the road. It was a Quarterback sweep to the right side, but Hayden Abrams was there to meet him, with Jaxon Johnson and Gavin Bernard closely behind. Abrams then wrapped him up for the sack and eventual Spartan win, 21-20, as the Spartans begin the season with two wins and zero losses.
Treven Gilbert finished the game going 14-19, completing 74% of his passes. He ended the night with 116 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown pass went to Braxton Butler, as Butler finished the game with 30 yards off of two receptions. Ty Yost caught three catches for 43 yards for the Spartan offense. The running game was solid, with Boden Christman finding the endzone once with 125 yards off 13 carries. Jaxon Johnson had a touchdown with 51 yards off of 10 attempts.
On the defensive end, Kalib O’Niel was all over the field with 11 tackles. Yost was big on both sides of the ball, ending his night on the defensive end with an interception and eight tackles. Hayden Abrams had seven tackles on the night, the biggest of which being the game-saving stop at the end of the game. Gideon Mecham and Porter Hurdsman would finish the game with five tackles a piece.
Next up for Emery, they will host the Enterprise Wolves on Friday on the Spartans turf at 7 p.m. The Wolves come into the game with a 0-1 record, falling to South Sevier last week, 21-0. The game will be broadcast live at ETVNews.com/LiveSports.
-
- Photos by Traci Bishop
