No. 9 Kearns Takes Down No. 17 Olympus In Defensive Battle

KEARNS, Utah – It was a defensive slug fest at Kearns as the No. 9 Cougars picked up a 14-7 win over No. 17 Olympus in the Game Night Live Game of the Week.

Kearns quarterback Iosefa Toia’ivao accounted for both touchdowns for the Cougars, one through the air and one on the ground.

For Olympus, Tommy Hoggan found the end zone once nearly midway through the fourth quarter.

.@Kearns_Football holds off a late comeback attempt by @OLYMPUSfootball to win 14-7. The Cougars move to 3-0 this season. #GameNightLive #KSLGameNight pic.twitter.com/R2iAewb3Pg

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 29, 2020

Defensive First half

It was a fairly quiet first quarter as both teams went scoreless. Teams exchanged punts but Kearns had an opportunity to score a touchdown but it was called back after an illegal block in the back penalty.

The first touchdown came in the second quarter as the Cougars worked their way down the field. Toia’ivao threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Joe Alusa. Kearns took a 7-0 lead with 5:24 remaining in the first half.

That was the score at the halftime break.

Halftime at @KearnsHS and the Cougars have the lead in a defensive battle.@OLYMPUSfootball 0@Kearns_Football 7#GameNightLive #KSLGameNight pic.twitter.com/QOpKZ1gZAM

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 29, 2020

Wild Second Half

Olympus had to punt on their first possession of the third quarter. Kearns touched the ball and Olympus recovered it in the red zone. The Cougars rebounded from that miscue and stopped Olympus on 4th down on the one-yard line.

Kearns worked their way down the field mainly on the ground with Leha. Toia’ivao capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown. Kearns took a 14-0 lead with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter.

As the Cougars had the ball towards midfield at the beginning the fourth quarter, Olympus was able to recover a fumble. Just two minutes after Olympus had the ball, they fumbled with Kearns recovering the ball.

1️⃣2️⃣ more minutes. @OLYMPUSfootball 0@Kearns_Football 14#GameNightLive #KSLGameNight

Tune into the 4th quarter with the @KSL5TV app (https://t.co/qIUB8C5QE7) and online at:https://t.co/N7rCvQkcmi pic.twitter.com/Bf5GSO0zf0

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 29, 2020

The Cougars were knocking on the door of a touchdown when Toia’ivao threw an interception. John Schlendorf returned it to the Kearns 15-yard line. On the very next play, the Titans found the end zone for the first time when Tommy Hoggan found Josh Vandenakker. They trimmed the deficit to 14-7 with 5:24 remaining in the game.

Olympus had a shot to tie the game after recovering an onside kick. They had the ball on the Kearns 18-yard line but turned the ball over on downs after throwing an incomplete pass in the end zone.

Up Next

Kearns improved their record to 3-0 on the season. They will host Taylorsville next Friday at 7 p.m.

Olympus dropped to 1-2 on the year. Murray will be the next stop for the Titans as they will face the Spartans next Friday at 7 p.m.

The Game Night Live Game of the Week next week will be in Spanish Fork as the Dons take on the Provo Bulldogs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on sports.ksl.com and the KSL TV app.