| Spartan defense lines up as they work to shut down the Carbon offense. |
Emery 38-Carbon 15 And Justice for all
Every once in a while, an individual will do something that makes you stand up and take notice and last Friday in the Emery high school football game Dave Justice did just that. Although he has had bigger numbers in games gone by, Justice played the most complete game of his career.
Justice was the leading rusher for the Spartans for the fifth straight time this season and he did it again against the Carbon Dinos last Friday night in Castle Dale as the Spartans won their region opener 38-15.
Justice ran the ball 22 times for 141 yards and the first Emery touchdown of the evening. His longest run came the very first time he touched the ball, that run going for 21 yards. Justice also threw a pass to Kade Jones that was good for a touchdown and caught two passes, the second being good for 85 yards and a touchdown. Wingback Ryan Draper completed that pass for the touchdown. Justice also led the defensive effort by being the leading tackler.
Jones who caught that TD pass from Justice also caught three passes from QB Dempsey Jeffs. Two of those passes were also for touchdowns. Four catches, three touchdowns…not bad.
Draper, who completed that long past to Justice for a touchdown, also caught a pass from Jeffs in the fourth quarter for another touchdown. It was a great catch as he juggled it before he caught it and scored.
Emery’s offensive line of center Cyal Christmas, guards Kaeden Murdock and Colton Patton and tackles Blake Mortensen and Wade Bohn have matured into their roles and are doing a great job of opening holes for the backs and protecting the quarterback. The nice thing is that they are all juniors and will have another year to play for Emery.
When Coach Jones was asked about his offensive line, he said’ “Most impressive fact is that they are all juniors. We struggle a little bit at times but we are learning and they are getting better each week.”
Emery started this game on fire. They scored the first three times they had the ball, all in the first quarter. First it was Justice, then Jeffs to Jones and finally Justice to Jones. But then they rested.
On the next five series, this Spartan team did not get much. We often forget that this team is still young and learning. After giving up two touchdowns to Carbon and a safety to cut the once 20 point lead to five points, the Spartans turned it around and scored touchdowns on their last three series of the ball game to grab the victory.
Emery’s defense played great most of the time. On Carbon’s first five series of the game, the Dinos had a grand total of 18 yards. On the last series of the first half, Carbon finally scored. After it looked like they would get nothing, a penalty was called on the Spartans that gave the Dinos new life. They scored two plays later on a 50-yard pass play by Brandon Wilson. Carbon’s Wilson had another big play in the third quarter as he ran 67 yards to the two yard line and the Dinos scored on the next play. That would be Carbon’s last threat of the game.
Emery’s defense stopped the Dinos in their last four series on downs, two fumbles caused and recovered and an interception. Emery also blocked a punt for great field position that led to their second touchdown. Steven Giles blocked the punt, Blake Mortensen recovered one fumble and Jordan Gee intercepted the pass.
Emery’s home stand will continue this Friday night with a game against Juan Diego. Game time 7 p.m.