The Wasatch football team went on the road Friday night desperate for their first win of the season. The Wasps had lost two of their first three games of the season by 10 points or less.
Standing in Wasatch’s way was new rival Deer Creek High School. The game was the first-ever Heber City clash, and bragging rights were on the line.
The two teams trained together all spring, with Deer Creek High School in its final stages of construction. Riverhawks Head Coach DeShawn Perkins worked under Wasps Head Coach Derik Bringhurst for the past two seasons. Bringhurst and Perkins denied any real animosity between the two teams, yet back and forth comments from their players and student sections begged to differ. Students got to choose which school they wanted to attend.
“There’s not bad blood by any means,” Perkins said pregame. “It’s a good competitive environment for us.”
Perkins said he hoped to make the fans proud with his team’s play on Friday. He thought a packed home crowd witnessing the program’s first win would be special.
Unfortunately for Perkins, Wasatch grabbed the first two scores of the game Friday on a 6 yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Braxton Sandoval and a 32 yard passing touchdown from sophomore quarterback Aksel Wheeler to sophomore wideout Grady Coombs, respectively.
Deer Creek sophomore signal caller Kai Betsinger connected with senior wideout Tyson Dahl for a 38 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to bring the score to 14-6 in favor of the Wasps at halftime.
Wasatch scored on a safety in the third quarter, before Riverhawks senior kicker Brodey Ferguson answered with a late third-quarter field goal to close the Wasps lead to 16-9. Ferguson’s kick would end up being the final points for Deer Creek, who conceded three rushing touchdowns in the final 13 minutes of the game to Sandoval and Coombs, who had two of the three, to lose 40-9.
“The first one is always the hardest one to get,” Bringhurst said about winning. “Once you get that first win, it starts pointing you in the right direction. … We’re going to go look for the second one.”
Bringhurst knew it would be tough playing against coaches and players whom his team considers close friends. He also believes Perkins has rallied former Wasatch players and first-time football players to believe strongly in their abilities.
“I think it can be a good turning point for us,” said junior defensive back Easton Colby, agreeing with Bringhurst. “The rest of the season, we’ll gain more confidence as we go on and hopefully make the playoffs.”
Win or lose each week, Perkins remains confident his team is taking the proper next steps.
“We’ve made improvements and progress,” Perkins said. “And that’s our goal. … Process over results, and I believe we’re doing the process right and so it’ll work in our favor as we keep going.”
Both teams will hit the road this week, with the Wasps taking on Timpanogos at 7 p.m. Friday and the Riverhawks facing Uintah at 7 p.m. Friday.
For a look at Wasatch’s complete schedule or for any further information about the team, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/heber-city/wasatch-wasps/football.
To take a peek at Deer Creek’s schedule or find more out about them, see their MaxPreps page: maxpreps.com/ut/heber-city/deer-creek-riverhawks/football.