Jon Faimalo recorded his first victory as head coach of the Emery Spartans as his team rolled past the 4A Payson Lions 27-14 Friday night on the road.

Trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter, the Spartans scored 27 unanswered points to improve to 1-1 on the non-league portion of the schedule. Friday’s loss dips Payson to 0-2 under first year head coach Derek Campbell.

“It felt good to get that first win under my belt, and hopefully we can keep it rolling,” said Faimalo. “We kind of ran into a little funk in the second quarter, but at the same time we scored and improved, so I feel good about that.”

Senior Logan Cox led the way for the Spartans rushing for a career high 163 yards and two touchdowns off of only 21 carries. Kolton Butler hauled in two catches for 52-yards and a two-point conversion. Tel Gardner and K.C. Jones both added a score on the ground.

After being held out of the end zone in the opener against Summit Academy, the Emery offensive found success both on the ground and through the air. Accumulating 370 yards of total offense, Zac Jorgensen completed five passes for 88 yards.

Cox scored the first offensive touchdown of the season for Emery on a three yard run with 7:37 to play in the second quarter. The score remained tied until the third quarter when Cox scored again, this time on a 15 yard sweep.

Holding a 13-7 lead the Spartans opened up a two possession advantage in the final minutes of the third as Jones scored on a three yard run. From that point on Emery held complete control of the game on their way to the win.

While the offense displayed drastic improvement, the Spartans defense once again shined. Easton Gordon, Kobe Faimalo and Cox all recorded one interception, while tackle Ty Mecham forced and recovered a fumble. Emery’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme proved problematic for Payson on the ground as they logged just 56 yards on 17 carries.

“We put a game plan together that I thought would work against Payson and the kids executed,” said Faimalo. “When we got in our spots we were really. We’ve got to build some trust with our second unit, but overall I was happy.”

Emery will look to carry the momentum from Friday’s win into week three when they play host to the Delta Rabbits. Both teams will enter the contest 1-1 and fresh off of a victory. Delta defeated Millard 49-7 at home this past Friday.