MT. PLEASANT—Senior Night became “Scorcher Night” for the Hawks’ offense.
The North Sanpete football team prevailed easily in their final game of the regular season with a 49-6 win over last-place Carbon last Wednesday, securing a fourth-place finish in the 3A South with a 2-3 record, finishing 4-6 overall. Senior players across the board showed a convincing display of prowess the Hawks had been desperately looking to achieve all season long.
“It was finally a full performance,” Coach Rhett Bird said. “It was fun to see those kids play so hard on their Senior Night.”
The Hawks’ season-high 49 points came by virtue of only 283 total yards. Senior quarterback Landon Bowles had an easy day, completing 10 of 14 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns, while not throwing an interception for the third straight game.
Senior Dakoda Harward led all rushers in the game with 13 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns. North Sanpete had a season-high 161 yards and four touchdowns rushing in the game, their best running output since rushing for 220 yards and four touchdowns against South Sevier early last year.
In the receiving game, as well as the kicking game, senior Dante Lowe had an unforgettable outing, catching three passes for 24 yards and two touchdowns while also hitting 6-6 on extra points. It was a sight to behold seeing the senior student body officer catch a touchdown, get up, celebrate with teammates, tee up for an extra point, make it, celebrate again, and then run on back to the 35-yard line to set up the kickoff.
Twice.
The Hawks’ defense held Carbon to their lowest rushing, passing and total yardage of the season, only 73 total yards. The Hawks forced five fumbles, unfortunately not recovering any of them. From his linebacker position, senior Andy Mower had two interceptions, both in Dino territory, and returned both well inside the 10-yard line.
Junior Ty Allan wasn’t celebrating Senior Night for himself but he certainly showed the Hawks a glimpse of optimism for 2022. On 1st-and-10 from the 26, Bowles took a shot at the endzone over the defense, and Allan hauled in the touchdown pass with one hand over his shoulder for a 14-0 first quarter lead.
After the Hawks scored again to make it 21-0 in the second, Mower intercepted Carbon yet again to set up North Sanpete’s offense at the Carbon 6-yard line. Bowles rolled out right for a pass, but instead practically walked into the end zone as the Carbon defense practiced some very effective social distancing. The rout was on.
A 4-6 overall finishing record was far less than expected for the Hawks as they were picked as the preseason second-place team in the 3A South. Nevertheless, RPI ranking still made North Sanpete look like contenders with a No. 5 spot in the final RPI rankings for 3A.
This gave the Hawks the No. 5 spot in the upcoming 3A State Championship Playoffs, the highest seed of the first round. They’ll be at home for the first round to host No. 12 Ben Lomond, a new face in the 3A class, and one of the worst teams in the state over the last 10 years, with individual losing streaks of 26 and 30 games. The Scots ended the regular season 1-9 overall.
