The Emery Spartans and Payson Lions met for the third time in three years as the Lions walked away with 31-7 victory, their second in that time frame, Friday night in Payson.
Kyson Stilson connected with Jaymes Bowman on a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead. Two Payson second quarter touchdowns gave the Lions the advantage and led to 31 unanswered points the rest of the way.
“We started off well out of the gates, but gave up two touchdowns late in the first half,” said head coach Jon Faimalo. “They are a big physical team and they ran it right at us in the second half. We got a little overwhelmed and that’s kind of how it ended up.”
The offensive numbers heavily favored Payson as the Lions out gained Emery in yardage 401 to 190. The majority of the damage was done by Payson’s Harrison Judd who accumulated 130 yards and three touchdowns on 22 attempts.
Stilson completed 11-of-22 passes for 101 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions throughout the game. Rance Jensen worked as Stilson’s primary receiver grabbing four catches for 48 yards, including a 22-yard catch late in the contest.
Missing senior Ashton Rowley due to an injury, captain Jesse Barnett played while also dealing with a lingering health issue. Payson took advantage of the thin and youthful Spartans front.
“We were really good at moving the ball in the first half, but had a hard time moving their front three,” said Faimalo. “The second half, with Jesse being a little gimped up and fatigued it was hard to get them to move. I felt like the first half, when we were fresh, we moved the ball just fine.”
Friday’s loss drops Emery to 0-3 in the non-region portion of the 2018 schedule. With only one pre-season tilt left on the slate the Spartans will return home Friday to meet the Manti Templars.
After winning the first two games of the season, the Templars suffered its first loss of the year Friday in a 28-14 setback to Grantsville.
Live coverage of Friday’s contest will begin at 6:30 pm on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM with the Landon’s Diesel Service Pre-Game Show. Kick-off will follow at 7:00.