No. 1 Corner Canyon Completes Comeback To Beat No. 3 Skyridge, Claims 35th Straight Win

LEHI, Utah – The top-ranked Corner Canyon Chargers trailed by 12 points entering the fourth quarter and came back to beat No. 3 Skyridge, 29-26.

Jaxson Dart threw all four of the Chargers’ touchdowns, connecting with Cody Hagen twice along with one apiece to Jett Meine and Noah Kjar.

For Skyridge, McCae Hillstead passed for three touchdowns, all to different receivers as well as one rushing TD. He connected with Teagan Carlton, James Palmer and Mitch Adamson.

With the win, Corner Canyon won their 35th straight game. Their last loss was in 2017 in the state championship game to Skyridge.

This @JaxsonDart 4 yard TD pass to @_codyhagen_ with 59 seconds left proved to be game winner as @CCHSFOOTBALL_ eked out 29-26 win over @skyridgefb. Skyridge moves ball to 3 yard line, but ran out of time as CC defense held. pic.twitter.com/7jpQN8fXto

— James Edward (@DNewsPreps) October 9, 2020

Hillstead With Tremendous First Half

On the first drive of the game, Corner Canyon QB Jaxson Dart fumbled the ball but recovered it and came up limping. The Chargers turned the ball over on downs. The first play of the game for Skyridge saw Jeter Fenton run the ball over 40 yards deep into Corner Canyon territory.

McCae Hillstead connected with Teagan Calton for a touchdown to put the Falcons ahead 6-0 with 8:09 remaining in the first quarter. The Chargers quickly answered with a touchdown to take the lead back when Dart found Cody Hagen. Corner Canyon went up 7-6 with 6:35 left in the opening quarter.

In their own territory, Hillstead threw an interception, setting up Corner Canyon in prime field position. Dart threw his second TD of the game when he threw the pass to Jett Meine. That gave Corner Canyon a 14-6 lead midway through the first.

At the end of the first quarter, Skyridge scored a touchdown when Hillstead threw to the back corner of the end zone to James Palmer. The Corner Canyon lead was just one point, 14-13.

Corner Canyon was in the red zone when Dart threw a side-arm pass that was picked off by stud defensive lineman Stone Mulitalo, who took the ball all the way down the the Corner Canyon 20-yard line. Hillstead ran in the touchdown from 10-yards out on the option run. After the PAT, the Falcons had a 20-14 lead with 7:30 remaining in the first half.

Skyridge was set up in prime field position after a punt return was taken to their red zone which was capped off by a three-yard TD pass from Hillstead to Mitch Adamson to put Skyridge ahead 26-14. Corner Canyon had to punt on their next possession. A 55-yard pass from Hillstead set the Skyhawks up on the goal line before they fumbled the ball on the one-yard line and Corner Canyon recovered.

Corner Canyon Completes Comeback

As Skyridge was trucking down the field, Hillstead threw an interception that set Corner Canyon up at their own 47-yard line. Dart had another miscue as he fumbled the ball on a strip sack by Mulitalo and Skyridge recovered. That was a big turnover because Corner Canyon was in the red zone.

Neither team scored in the third quarter as Skyridge had 12 minutes to hold on to snap the 34-game winning streak of Corner Canyon. Skyridge was approaching the red zone when they turned the ball over on downs. Dart had a big run that went to midfield. They ended the drive with a TD throw from Dart to Noah Kjar.

Skyridge’s lead was 26-21 with over 7 minutes left in the game. The Falcons were forced to punt on their next possession. On third and goal from the nine-yard line, Dart ran to the five-yard line. On fourth and goal, Dart threw a TD to Hagen. After going for two and converting, the lead for Corner Canyon was 29-26 with 59 seconds left.

The Falcons ran into the end zone with 29 seconds left but was called back because of an illegal motion penalty. With 15 seconds left, Skyridge was at the Corner Canyon 25-yard line, the Falcons get a massive catch by James Palmer at the 6-yard line. With 8 seconds left, Hillstead was brought down at the two-yard line and the Chargers held on to win the game.

The Chargers improved their record to 9-0 on the season. They will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday, October 14 against No. 7 American Fork at home at 7 p.m.

Skyridge dropped to 7-2 on the year and suffered their second straight loss. The Falcons will host Westlake in the regular season finale on Wednesday, October 14 at 7 p.m.