Meier, Titans hand Kearns first loss of the year

KEARNS — Quinn Meier had just finished running for 166 yards and three touchdowns for Olympus.

But he wasn't taking any of the credit for himself.

"It was a strong game. Those are strong guys," Meier said of Kearns. "But we came out stronger, though. They had a big O-line, but our linemen were stronger."

At those words, the Titans (4-2, 2-0, Region 6) jumped on Meier and a mass of them — many of them that same line that protected him all night and allowed him to run for 166 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-14 win over the Cougars — dogpiled on him, screaming, hollering and celebrating like they had just done the impossible.

Which, to many, they had.

Olympus (4-2, 2-0 Region 6) snapped Kearns' strongest start since 1993, handing the Cougars (5-1, 1-1) their first loss of the year on the road.

It was a moment to celebrate for the Titans — but only for a time.

"This is a big win for us. We're excited, and it shows that we can play against good teams and we can be successful," Olympus coach Aaron Whitehead said. "We'll enjoy this on the bus ride back to Holladay. But it's all Hillcrest now, and another chance to play at home in front of our fans and in front of our community."

Kearns was among the most improved teams in the state, turning around from last season's 2-win finish to open up the 2015 campaign undefeated.

"That's a good team," the Olympus coach said of the Cougars, "and that's a team that will bounce back."

The Titans opened the scoring with a pair of field goals by Parker Rigby on the first two drives of the game. Meier found the end zone on a 45-yard run with 1 minute, 53 seconds remaining to take a 13-0 lead after the first quarter.

But Olympus didn't let up from there. After Shay Reid got the Cougars on the board with a 26-yard scoring grab from Bailey Floyd, the Titans marched back down the field on another long drive punctuated by Meier's 1-yard TD dive with 2:55 to go until halftime.

That touchdown was set up by Fetzer's 14-yard run to the goal-line, but his knee touched at the 1-yard line before Meier punched it in.

Sawyer Pierce scored his first of two touchdown strikes with 43 seconds left in the half, hooking up with Oscar Hoggan on a 26-yard slant to give the Titans a 27-7 lead at the break.

"The coaching staff did a good job putting together this game plan. But it's not the coaching; it's the kids executing," Whitehead said. "The kids did an excellent job. Quinn is the one with the numbers … but every single kid offensively and defensively executed tonight. It's a little surprising, but at the same time, we'll take it."

Pierce opened the scoring in the second half with a 22-yard pass to Jack Anderson, and Olympus outscored the Cougars 17-0 to pull away in the third quarter. The Olympus quarterback finished the game with 221 yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-21 passing with one interception.

Anderson led all receivers with 93 yards and a score on five catches.

Meier burst through the line, juked a linebacker to the ground, then ran 76 yards up the right sideline for the Titans' final touchdown of the game with 1:52 left in the third quarter.

"I'm looking at the end zone, and I'm like 'I'm gonna get there,'" Meier said. "At the moment, I just put it up. I was looking at nothing but the end zone."

Rigby added a 15-yard field goal to close the third, and Kearns scored on a 13-yard run from Samuel Fetzer fwith 9:01 left in the fourth quarter for the final score.

Floyd completed 12-of-23 passes for 177 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Kearns. Fetzer finished with 56 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

"That's a very good team we just played, and they are going to have a very good season," Whitehead said. "I think (Kearns) will have a very good run this year. You have to cheer for Kearns; this is a team that was undefeated coming into this game with kids from Kearns, not kids from other places. My hat goes off to them."

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