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SANDY — In a Thursday night edition of high school football, Alta dominated Jordan in a 58-24 win.
While the Alta offense did whatever it wanted for much of the night, running back Anson Jaramillo was a force for the Hawks as the junior plowed through the Jordan defense to finish the night with three touchdowns.
"I think the line was a big part of it," Jaramillo said. "But being able to bounce back, I just needed that. So, I just kept driving my feet, and I think that's the thing that worked the most. Coach just always tells me to keep moving my feet, and I think I finally got that tonight."
While it took a few possessions for Jaramillo to find the end zone, the Alta offense was white-hot out of the gates, scoring on their first two drives of the contest.
Following an initial fumble on the opening kickoff return, the Beetdiggers took over on the Alta 18-yard line. But the Hawks quickly reclaimed possession after recovering a bad snap by Jordan. Jaramillo then provided a bit of a foreshadow of what was to come as he exploded up the middle for 18 yards.
A few plays later, Alta quarterback Ethan Jackson found tight end Kannon Matthews in the end zone for a touchdown strike. Matthews' 6-foot-5 frame made all the difference as he elevated above a triple-team defense and brought down the catch for a score.
On the ensuing Jordan drive, the offense fumbled the ball again to give the Hawks good field position on the Beetdiggers' 20-yard line. One play later, the Hawks cashed in on a dump off pass to running back Jace Turner, who took it 20 yards down the sideline before diving into the end zone. In a four-minute period, Alta had a 14-0 lead.
The offense for Alta fizzled out as the teams traded field goals to closeout the first quarter. But in the second quarter, Jaramillo went to work.
Following an incredible sideline interception by Hawks cornerback Noah Flores, Jaramillo took the ball 39 yards to the house after slipping through a small gap up the left side. He effectively avoiding two tackles and dragged three defenders with him as he fell into the end zone for his first score of the game.
Alta found the end zone two more times before the halftime break, including a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Jackson that was made possible after Flores, who stiff-armed a defender, on a 43-yard reception, and later another Jaramillo score to take a commanding 37-10 lead.
But the Hawks and Jaramillo weren't done there.
The junior running back notched the hat trick with arguably his most impressive touchdown run of the night in the third quarter. Jaramillo found room off the edge and took it to the house 51 yards for the score. While the distance and speed were impressive, it was the stiff arm at the sideline that made it a highlight-reel play. Jaramillo tossed the defender to the side, tiptoed down the sideline and proceeded to find the end zone.
Alta scored a final time with second- and third-string players inserted into the game in the fourth quarter amid a dominant performance
"Offensively, we were solid across the board, and I'm pretty happy with the way we finished the season," Alta assistant coach Dave Harrison said. "This week we came out and focused on the run game all week in practice. I think that the O-line really responded and Anson Jaramillo had a great game, too."
With the victory, Alta improves to 5-4 on the season and finished third in Region 8. Jordan dropped to a disappointing 2-7, just two spots behind Alta in last place.
