6A football semifinals: Weber’s season ends in 48-13 throttling by No. 1 Corner Canyon
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- Weber High’s Logan Payne (38) runs the football as Corner Canyon’s Micah Wilson (5) approaches to tackle during a 6A state semifinal game Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High’s Porter Hayes looks off into the distance during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High quarterback Aidan Carter (11) scrambles with the football during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Corner Canyon quarterback Devin Brown reaches back to throw the football during a 6A state semifinal game against Weber on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High running back Logan Payne checks out the Corner Canyon defense as he runs the ball during a 6A state semifinal game Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High’s Amari Swain (17) runs in a touchdown during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High students cheer during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High’s Stockton Short (5) tries to haul in a pass as Corner Canyon’s Zach Hale (2) defends during a 6A state semifinal game Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High receiver Jett Hill runs a reception for a big gain during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High quarterback Aidan Carter looks to throw during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Corner Canyon’s Cody Hagen (3) grabs a touchdown reception as Weber’s Jett Hill (10) looks on during a 6A state semifinal game Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber High quarterback Aidan Carter runs the football during a 6A state semifinal game against Corner Canyon on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday, the Weber High football team practiced at Weber State University’s indoor fieldhouse to get out of a rainstorm.
Once the Warriors started doing warmups on the 50-yard indoor field, which is essentially suspended over the free skate ice rink below, players and coaches were quickly unnerved by the wobbly, shaky floor that they equated to an earthquake.
It turns out the ground wasn’t shaking because the field’s suspended over an ice rink. It was a forewarning of what was about to come Friday.
The Warriors (10-3) were thumped 48-13 by No. 1 Corner Canyon in Friday’s 6A state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Weber’s first semifinal appearance since 1999.
The three-time defending state champion Chargers (12-1) led 41-6 at halftime behind five first-half touchdown passes from USC commit quarterback Devin Brown.
Three of those first-half TD passes went to BYU commit Cody Hagen.
“Well, I think Corner Canyon’s a hell of a football team, there’s no doubt,” Weber coach Jayson Anderson said. “We knew going in it was a tall order. I’m just proud of my guys, our guys I should say … proud of our guys and how they just battled.”
From the time it took the field for its first play, Corner’s offense seemed to slice through Weber’s defense like it wasn’t there in both the pass and run games, but especially the former.
Brown completed 21 of 29 passes for 341 yards and six touchdowns. The Chargers got things rolling early and were far in front by the time Weber settled down.
“We want to get the ball first and go and put it on them so our defense can go get a stop and we can go score again,” Brown said.
The Warriors trailed 7-0, Jayce Jones hooked a 34-yard field goal attempt, the Warriors got a fourth-down stop, then a shanked punt that gave CC the ball at the Weber 18-yard line and the Chargers made it 14-0 shortly thereafter.
It wasn’t until early in the second quarter that the Warriors scored, that from a 15-yard TD run by Amari Swain to cut the score to 21-6. Four plays and two penalties later, Hagen caught a 30-yard TD pass from Brown for a 27-6 lead.
With 42 seconds left in the first half, Corner went up 41-6 and hit the 35-point margin required for a second-half running clock.
Despite the margin, Weber’s players jogged out of the locker room with a little more energy than they had 15 minutes earlier walking off the field and looking up at the scoreboard.
Cannon DeVries caught a second-half TD catch on a grab in the back corner of the end zone to briefly bring Weber under the 35-point mark for a running clock, but an 80-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Jett Meine on the first play of the ensuing drive restored the Chargers’ 35-point lead.
“They just execute super well,” DeVries said. “They’re big, strong — I mean, their screens they run you just can’t stop it because they’ve got those big boys up front and good playmakers behind them. They’re a good team, hats off to them and good luck to them.”
The result ends arguably one of the top three seasons in Weber’s football history. The 2021 team is one of two in school history to hit double-digit wins (the other was the 1999 state-title team) and one of a handful to make the state semifinals.
“They’re tough kids and they’ve accomplished a lot. It’s one of those things, man, you just wish it could go the other way,” Anderson said.
DeVries caught six passes for 95 yards and the touchdown, where he inadvertently knocked over a Pleasant View police officer standing far away near the tunnel (the officer was OK afterward).
Weber quarterback Aidan Carter threw 14 of 32 for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Running back Logan Payne ran for 62 yards and made six tackles on defense.
There were quiet tears and hugs all around on Weber’s side of the field afterward. Friday also marked the end of illustrious prep careers for a senior class that’s been a part of the premier program in Region 1 recently.
“Since second grade, we’ve been playing together, the brotherhood. We built it, this is the true definition of family right here,” DeVries said. “Everyone’s got each other’s backs, everyone loves each other and we’d do anything for each other. It’s been an honor to play with all these guys.”
It had been since Fremont in 2016 that a Region 1 team made the state semifinals in the state’s highest classification.
Before this year, the two most recent Region 1 teams to even get to the quarterfinals lost by a combined 88-10 scoreline to Region 4 teams, indicating just how elite Region 4 (Utah County and Corner Canyon) is in football right now.
But Friday, Weber was there in Rice-Eccles Stadium, one of four teams left in the 6A playoffs.
The Warriors fit cosmetically, with their red, black and white uniforms having the same color scheme and a similar style as the Utah Utes team whose stadium Weber finally got to play in.
“As a kid, this is what you dream about,” DeVries said. “You watch in person, you come down here with your parents and sit here and watch games all day. As a kid you wish you can make it and that’s obviously what the goal was and we did it, but …”
He left that sentence unfinished. There wasn’t much left for anyone to say.