But here Layton and Cedar Valley were, in a matchup featuring the bottom two RPI teams, fighting to keep their respective seasons alive in a play-in game to the main 6A playoff event.

The award to the victor was a second-round Halloween matchup with top seed Corner Canyon, a perennial contender aiming for its eighth straight state championship game appearance and third consecutive title.

After a 2-1 start, the Lancers came in winless since late August; the Aviators, meanwhile, picked up their sole victory in Week 6 over the teams’ only shared opponent, Copper Hills. The Grizzlies took down Layton by scoring a touchdown with 12 seconds left.

In the inaugural matchup between the Lancers and Aviators, Layton used an explosive first half to build a 28-0 lead before cruising to a 41-16 victory, earning an opportunity against the powerhouse Chargers.

“These kids haven’t quit,” Layton coach Trevor Thomas said. “Things haven’t gone our way this year a little bit, but they’ve played hard.

“I told them that I looked at (the play-in game) as we’re the only team around here playing. A lot of the other teams up north were either (on a bye) or playing south, so we were really the only game in town, we’ve got a home game so we might as well come out and play. Let’s go see what we can do.”

The Lancers punted on their first possession but then reeled off four consecutive touchdowns to build a dominant lead against a Cedar Valley unit that allowed nearly 40 points per game this season.

Gavin Hurst launched the scoring barrage at the 4:14 mark of the first quarter with a 47-yard touchdown run on the possession’s first snap.

Following a Carter Hughes interception, the Lancers again scored on their opening play when freshman quarterback Tillman Thomas synced up with Nathan Meacham on a 32-yard pass play.

On the heels of two more Aviator punts, Layton punched it into the end zone twice more.

The first came on a JP Garlick 10-yard run and the follow-up was a 2-yard Hurst sweep midway through the second period.

Cedar Valley’s Andrew Lyon booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 28-3 at the half, but it proved to be too little, too late.

“The 16-17 seed, it’s not like the best position, but you know if your team does good, you can always make a run in the playoffs,” Hurst said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what team you’re on, anybody can do anything.

“We knew that (Cedar Valley’s) offensive line had a weak point. So, we knew that our front four or front five could bring pressure any time and that the quarterback would get flushed out of the pocket. Then we would bring blitzes and he had nowhere to go. That’s what happened all night.

“It’s exciting to play Corner Canyon, the No. 1 seed,” Hurst continued. “We’re going to have to give it our all. Everybody’s going to have to be locked in and do everything correctly and we’re just going to have to put up a big fight.”

Layton’s offense slowed after the break, but its defensive line remained relentless, forcing its way into the Aviator backfield all evening.

“(We took advantage) with our size and our quickness,” Trevor Thomas said. “(Lincoln) Peterson, he took two or three guys with him a lot, which freed up other people, so we did a good job.”

The Aviators did show a little spark in the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Rigdon Peck came in cold as an injury replacement for starter Landon Johnson and promptly tossed a swing pass to Maxwell Stoner for a 64-yard touchdown.

But Layton countered on a 19-yard Garlick rush up the middle for a TD with 6:47 left.

Peck tossed a second touchdown to make the score 34-16, but Tillman Thomas followed by launching a 64-yard bomb to Preston DeWitt to account for the final tally.

“The one good thing (about playing Corner Canyon) is that you get to go see the best of the best and see where you’re at as a person and where you’re at as a team, and where you want to go as a program,” Trevor Thomas said. “So, I’m all for the challenge. We’re going to see what we can do.”