The Emery Spartans hit the road for their final game of the regular season, facing the Delta Rabbits. Delta came into the game with a 4-5 record and Emery was sitting at 6-2. The game was all Emery, coming out of the gate with an excellent pass from Treven Gilbert to Porter Hurdsman for a 23-yard touchdown on Emery’s opening drive.
The defense held strong, giving the Spartans the ball with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Ty Yost than ran it up the middle, avoiding the Delta defenders, earning a 23-yard touchdown run, giving Emery the 14-0 lead as the quarter came to an end.
On the next possession, Braxton Butler brought Emery into the red zone with a great 20-yard screen pass. Jaxon Johnson finished off the drive with a five-yard run into the end zone, extending the Spartan lead.
The Rabbits would get on the board, marching down the field, bringing the game to 21-7 with under six minutes remaining in the half. Hayden Abrams then caught the kick return, as he handed the ball to Yost, who broke free for an 80-yard return to the house, answering back quickly for the Spartans.
After another solid stop from the Emery defense, Gilbert found Yost for a screen pass. He ran 53 yards with a fantastic run, finding the end zone again, bringing the lead to 35-7. Beau Stilson then made a great defensive play, intercepting the ball, getting possession back to the Emery squad with under two minutes in the half.
Gilbert and his offense made their way down the stripes, ending with a pass to Deacon Mangum for a 15-yard touchdown, giving the Spartans the 42-7 lead. In the Rabbits first play of the drive with under 30 second remaining in the half, Jaxon Johnson made an amazing circus catch, coming away with the interception.
Emery was then on Delta’s 37-yard line looking to score once more before the half. Gilbert found Abrams and Hurdsman for good gains, getting into the red zone, finishing with Johnson being awarded with a touchdown coming from his interception on the other side. Finally, the half would end with a massive Emery lead of 49-7, with the Spartans playing near perfect football in the first 24 minutes.
The clock would run in the second half as the mercy rule was in effect. Delta scored later in the third, but the damage was done and victory was seeming certain for the Emery squad. Yost again would find the end zone in the fourth quarter, with excellent blocking form the offensive line, who deserve many praises and recognition. The Rabbits found the end zone once more, but Emery was able to come away with the win in their last regular season matchup, 55-21.
Gilbert completed 86% of his passes, going 24-28, for 326 yards and four touchdowns in an amazing quarterback performance. Hurdsman had nine receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown in the game. Mangum received touchdown as well, with 71 yards. Jaxon Johnson finished the game with a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown and a great interception on the defensive end.
Ty Yost had an incredible showing as he found the end zone four times in the game; two from rushing, one from receiving and one from special teams. Yost accumulated 197 all purpose yards, leading the game in tackles defensively with eight. Hayden Abrams was also big on defense, leading with eight tackles as well. Jadin Atwood was perfect from the extra points, going 8-8 from the PAT.
The Spartans will have a break next weekend, as they earned a first-round bye in the 2A state tournament. They are set to face either the tenth ranked Providence Hall or the seventh ranked American Leadership Academy on Nov. 1, which will be broadcast live at ETVNews.com/livesports.