The Emery Spartans suffered a season ending 42-7 loss to the North Sanpete Hawks Friday night in the opening round of the 3A State Tournament in Mount Pleasant.

Entering the state tournament as the No. 16 seed, the Spartans trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. The deficit doubled as the Hawks took a four score lead into the break. The second half worked as a formality as North Sanpete defeated the Spartans for the second time this season.

In an attempt to speed the game up, the Spartans used senior standout Jaymes Bowman as the primary quarterback in the wildcat formation. North Sanpete’s defense, which ranks second in 3A, had little problem slowing the Emery game plan.

Bowman finished with 59 yards on the ground off of 17 carries and added 20 yards through the air on two receptions. Sophomore Jace Curtis scored the team’s only touchdown on a 31-yard run, finishing the game with 39 yards total on five carries.

Emery found moderate success offensively in the second half as sophomore quarterback Tyler Stilson completed 5-9 passes for 72 yards. Stilson’s favorite target became junior Jace Curtis, who hauled in three grabs for 59 yards.

North Sanpete’s defense held Emery to just 195 yards total for the game and 3-11 on third down attempts. The defense added two touchdowns on interceptions in each half. The first came from Brady Jacobson on a 46-yard return, the second from Laramie Roberts on a 37-yard touchdown.

Offensively North Sanpete dominated in the trenches as they accumulated 141 yards on the ground and added 148 through the air. Despite committing three turnovers, the offense put together four touchdown drives.

Running back Connor Jorgensen rushed for 56 yards on five carries to go along with two touchdowns. Kaden Taylor also crossed the goal line twice, finishing with 26 yards on six carries.

Sophomore quarterback Landon Bowles controlled the game for the Hawks, completing 6-of-13 passes for 148 yards.

Friday’s meeting was the second of the season between the two teams. The first played out in similar fashion as North Sanpete walked away with a 43-6 victory.

The loss brings an end to an Emery season that was plagued with injuries from the very beginning. Despite finishing with a 1-9 record, the team lost three games by two scores or less.

Stay tuned to Castle Country Radio for a complete season recap in the coming days.

Listen to Friday’s complete broadcast from KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM below:

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