Richfield shuts out North Sanpete
By James Tilson
Staff writer
Oct. 6, 2017
RICHFIELD —The Richfield Wildcats devoured the North Sanpete High School (NSHS) Hawks with a 29-0 shutout on Friday.
The Wildcats set the tone for game on the first drive. On an eight-play drive that covered 70 yards, the Wildcats called eight straight running plays, with only one of those plays covering less than five yards. The Wildcats would rely on their ground attack for the entire game, amassing 192 yards on the ground versus only 95 through the air.
Quarterback Emmitt Hafen directed the Wildcat attack, mixing in the timely pass with 64 yards of rushing himself.
The Hawks, on the other hand, more often than not, played a big part in ending their own drives. On six out of 10 drives for the game, the Hawks had a penalty, a sack or a turnover that led to or ended their drive. The Hawks could never find any offensive continuity on the night, gaining only six first downs for the entire game.
After their first drive of the game led to the opening score, the Wildcats followed that up with a 12-play drive in the second quarter to make it 14-0. On the Hawks’ next possession, they fumbled the ball on their own 15-yard line, where the Wildcats recovered. Two plays later, the Wildcats drove the ball into the end zone to make the score 20-0 at the half.
In the second half, the Wildcat offense slowed down, and neither team could score in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took advantage of a big punt return to start their possession on the Hawks 35 yard line, and score their final touchdown 5 plays later. On the next Hawks play, Quarterback Spencer Steadman, harried by the Wildcat defense all night, threw an interception which turned into a Wildcat field goal, to finish the scoring at 29 – 0.
Tomorrow, the North Sanpete Hawks and the Manti Templars meet in Mt. Pleasant to renew their annual county rivalry. The Hawks are still looking for their first victory, while the Templars at 2-5 are looking for their first conference win with two weeks left in the regular season.
