The Wasatch High School football team tested themselves on Thursday night, facing off against Cedar, the reigning 3A state champions.
The Wasps even moved the game up a day and allowed KSL to broadcast it.
Wasatch Head Coach Derik Bringhurst was hopeful his team would come out on top because of their focused preparations this offseason. He knew his team and Cedar would know very little of each other heading into the game because of how many players they lost after last season.
Thursday’s game started off slowly, with the only first quarter points scored being on a Wasps field goal by Austin Wilde. In the second quarter, the action heated up, with Wasatch and Cedar trading blows. Wilde cashed in on another field goal, and Wasps junior quarterback Bryce Harr ran for an 80 yard touchdown, but Wasatch gave up two passing touchdowns to Cedar to trail 14-13 at halftime.
“We realized last night that Bryce has got some wheels,” Bringhurst said. “(Wilde) got a touchdown on his birthday and a 55-yard goal, which is a school record. … (Wilde) had a phenomenal game just all around. He played weak side backer on defense.”
Cedar drew first blood in the third quarter on another passing touchdown. While Harr threw a touchdown to Wilde as the quarter ended, the Wasps couldn’t tie the game up on a two-point try attempt, and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Cedar all but iced the game.
“What helped them out is they had a run game,” Bringhurst said. “Their run game set up that pass game real well and caught us sleeping a couple of times. That was the difference maker right there. … We had our starting running back, (sophomore Parker Cottle), get injured two days prior to the game, and he’s probably out for the majority of the season unfortunately.”
Wasatch will now embark on a four-game road trip, facing Mountain Crest first next Friday at 7 p.m. Mountain Crest went 8-4 last season and is taking on the new Deer Creek High School in Deer Creek’s inaugural game on Friday night.
“(Our) coaching staff are going to come and support them (Deer Creek) and scout out Mountain Crest,” Bringhurst said. “Mountain Crest is a phenomenal team that comes from a very tough region, and I don’t expect them to take a step down in their talent and toughness. … We’ve got to fix some issues that we saw last night to be able to defeat them next week.”
The Wasps will take on Deer Creek during the road trip on Sept. 4.
Bringhurst believes his team played stronger on the road at times last season, but he will listen to players if they’re struggling during the road trip and make necessary adjustments.
“The encouraging thing is we have so many inexperienced guys that finally played in a varsity game last night,” Bringhurst said. “And the mistakes that we saw are all fixable. They’re all coachable kids who want to get better and are willing to do anything to get better. … We told them if you’re going to make a mistake, make new mistakes. Don’t keep making the same one.”
For further information about the Wasatch football team, including their full schedule, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/heber-city/wasatch-wasps/football.