Emery Spartans to head to Park City as state begins

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports Writer

Spartans slowed only by power outage
Last Friday night, the only thing that slowed the Emery Spartan offense during a region game with Salem Hills was the power outage that occurred at the end of the first quarter. With Emery already leading 7-0, Emery was at the Skyhawk 3-yard line when the lights in Castle Dale went out. A downed power line evidently was the cause and the game was suspended for more than 45 minutes.
When the power came back on, and after both teams warmed up for the second time that night, Emery went on to score again, led 13-0 as the Spartans would then win 46-20. With the win, Emery finished fourth in region 8 and will now face Park City at Park City in the first round of the 3-A state play-offs on Friday at 4 p.m.
Emery was impressive in the game as they ground out 440 yards rushing, 530 yards of offense and 35 first downs in the game. On senior night, senior Colby Snow led the way with 157 yards on the ground in 16 carries, scored three touchdowns and caught three passes for 25 yards. Senior Chance Ariotti gained 103 yards on 18 carries, scored once on a 20-yard run and caught one pass for 10 yards.
Senior Dalton Judd scored the first touchdown of the game on a 35-yard run, as he would pick up 42 yards on three carries. JT Noyes gained 49 yards on six carries, Gatlan Huntington gained 24 yards on five carries and Morgan Burr scored once and carried the ball twice for 65 yards.
Emery had the ball four times in the first half and scored on all four possessions. The Emery drives were for 86 yards, 92 yards, 80 yards and 61 yards. Emery had the ball in the second half four times and would score on three of those. Those drives were for 44 yards, 80 yards and 66 yards.
Emery slowed by injuries this late in the season, only allowed Salem Hills three scores during the game. JT Noyes, starting at safety for the first time this season had an interception and a fumble recovery in the only two turnovers of the game. Linebacker Derrick Allred led the team with 15 tackles, seven of those unassisted. Ariotti, another linebacker, had 11 tackles with Noyes in on 10 tackles.
After Judd’s opening touchdown, Snow would score on Emery’s next three possessions. The runs were seven yards, 15 yards and three yards long. Emery would lead at the half 25-6. In the second half, a 10-yard pass from Huntington to Tanner Procarione led off the scoring and the same combo would add the 2-point PAT. Ariotti and Burr would then score for the Spartans.
After the game, Coach Jimmy Jones talked about the game, “I’m just happy for the seniors playing their last home game. This is good.”
Besides Emery traveling to Park City, four other region 8 teams will play in the tournament this Friday or Saturday. Undefeated and tournament favorite Juan Diego will host Wasatch High. Delta, with only the Juan Diego loss blemishing their record, will host Union. North Sanpete will play at Judge Memorial and Salem Hills will travel to Morgan. Besides Juan Diego and Delta, Hurricane, Morgan and Logan are expected to do well in the play-offs.