Turnovers plagued the Emery Spartans in a 21-7 season ending loss to the Richfield Wildcats in the opening round of the 3A State Championship Tournament Thursday afternoon in Richfield.

Meeting for the second time this season the Spartans possessed the ability to move the football, but committed six turnovers, including two in the red zone. The Wildcats took full advantage scoring 14 of its 21 points after takeaways.

Emery quarterback Kyson Stilson delivered another statistically pleasing game by completing 19 of 33 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown. Stilson was intercepted on three occasions, two of which were off deflected passes.

The Wildcats found a way to limit Emery’s production on the ground, surrendering just 66 positive yards throughout the game. Rance Jensen was responsible for 59 of those yards off of 18 carries.

Richfield quarterback Emmit Hafen completed seven of 15 passes for 74, two scores and an interception. Hafen also led the team in rushing, accumulating 41 yards on thirteen carries, while reaching the end zone once.

Wanting to control the clock and tempo, the Spartans marched down the field on the game’s opening possession while eating over seven minutes of clock. Stilson committed the game’s first turnover at the eight-yard line, fumbling after being blindsided in the pocket. Richfield capitalized on the turnover by marching down the field and scoring the game’s first touchdown almost immediately.

Still trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, the Spartans appeared to cut the Richfield deficit to one as Rance Jensen scored from the one-yard line in the final seconds of the half. The touchdown was negated as the Spartans were called for holding, leading to a missed opportunity to put points up on the following play.

The second half appeared to be all Richfield as the Wildcats increased its lead to 21 in the fourth quarter. The first and only score for Emery came in the fourth quarter as Stilson connected with sophomore Jaymes Bowman on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Thursday’s loss brings an end to Emery’s season, which produced a variety of ups and downs as the team finished 1-9. The lone win came in thrilling fashion against the Carbon Dinos on Sept. 22 as Brock Winter converted the game winning field goal in the final seconds.

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