Hawks soar out of reach of Richfield Wildcats, 40-6
Matt Harris
Staff writer
10-6-2016
MT. PLEASANT—North Sanpete football made faithful Hawks, past and present, proud during their Homecoming game last Friday as they dominated the Richfield Wildcats. 40-6.
The Homecoming theme for North Sanpete was “Here We Are,” inspired by the song “Warriors” by Imagine Dragons.
The big Hawk crowd made their presence apparent by wearing black shirts to create a “blackout.” Hawk players followed suit by wearing all-black uniforms, a contrast to the stark white of the visiting Wildcats.
The Hawks certainly won the war, and fans of North Sanpete were not disappointed.
North Sanpete opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior Haden Poulson.
After a failed possession by the Wildcats, Hawks running back Waylon Atkinson showcased his ability as an all-purpose offensive weapon by scoring three straight touchdowns, all the ground. Atkinson scored on runs of 65 yards, 24 yards, and 8 yards to blow the game wide open for the Hawks. Thanks to Atkinson, North Sanpete entered the locker room at the half with a 27-0 lead.
“Waylon has come up big for us the last couple of weeks, and it’s the most healthy he has been all year,” head coach Rhett Bird said. “We have been working with him to hit the holes as hard as he can, and he has been doing a fantastic job at it.”
The second half continued the same narrative for the flaming Hawks offense. In the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Chance Clawson scored on the ground for North Sanpete from 2 yards out. In the fourth quarter, junior back Maison Burgess capped off the Hawks’ largest lead of the season with a 22-yard run to make the score 40-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Richfield finally scored when Wildcats’ junior returner Evan Jerome managed a touchdown on an 85-yard kickoff return.
This win marks the first win for North Sanpete this season that has featured more than one possession.
“Friday’s game was the best start we’ve had all year long,” Bird says. “We came out and got after them from the get go. I believe a big portion of our success came from our preparation throughout the week.”
The Hawks stay at home this week and are facing a huge test against their border rival and 3A favorite Juab on Friday. Juab is coming off of a 41-20 win against Canyon View.
