The Emery Spartans suffered a shutout loss in the second game of the season, falling to the North Sanpete Hawks 27-0 Friday night in Castle Dale.
A highly competitive first quarter ended with North Sanpete holding a 7-0 advantage. The Hawks created more space with a dominant second quarter that led to a 19-0 score at the break. The lone touchdown of the second half came midway through the third period to round out the 27-0 final.
“They are a good offensive team and they do some things really well,” said head coach Jon Faimalo following Friday’s game. “We talk about how to win a game or lose a game and we had a couple mental breakdowns and that’s on us as coaches.”
The first touchdown of the game came on a 3rd-and-12 as North Sanpete quarterback Landon Bowles connected with Kolby Robinson for a 74-yard touchdown pass. Bowles would toss three more scores throughout the game to finish with four touchdowns on the evening to four different receivers.
Offensively the Spartans were shorthanded as key skill position players Josh Olsen, Jace Curtis and Jace Mangum all missed the contest due to injury. Quarterback Ryker Jensen missed the entire second half after taking a hit that led to a penalty in the second quarter.
With the massive amounts of injuries piling up the Spartans turned to backup senior quarterback Tyler Stilson and sophomore running back Dane Sitterud. The two combined for the majority of the Emery offense, pushing the ball onto North Sanpete’s side of the field multiple times, but never managing to cross the goal line.
“I thought Dane ran the ball well and I thought Tyler came in did some really good things,” said Faimalo. “I thought they did a great job for what they had. We’re a little shorthanded, but that’s football and we have to figure it out.”
Friday’s loss moves Emery to 1-1 on the season after topping the Carbon Dinos in the season opener last Friday. The Spartans will have an opportunity to climb back over the .500 barrier on Friday, Aug. 27 at home against Democracy Prep.
Traveling from Nevada, Democracy Prep was originally slated to meet Judge Memorial. A change in the schedule gave them an opening week, paving the way for a game with the Spartans.
Live coverage of Friday’s game will air live on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM beginning at 6:30 p.m.. Kickoff will follow shortly after at 7:00.