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Wildcats football team out-guns Gunnison

The South Summit High School football team didn’t waste much time before finding the end zone for the first time on Friday night in Kamas.

Squaring off against 2A North opponent Gunnison in front of a raucous homecoming crowd, the Wildcats received the kickoff to start the game. Then, after making it to their own 42-yard line on the ground, they decided to air the ball out a little bit.

Noticing press coverage from the Gunnison cornerbacks, the Wildcats relied on their speedy receivers to get open deep. That’s exactly what happened on the opening drive, with Bracken Santos streaking down the sideline and quarterback Ty Jones hitting him in stride for a 58-yard touchdown pass.

Later in the first quarter, with the ball on the Gunnison 40-yard line, Jones and Santos hooked up for another long touchdown. Jones said the chemistry he and Santos have is the product of years of working together.

"That’s just from playing together ever since we were young," he said. "Everything is working out well. He reads the defense well – if he sees something, he’ll curl off and I’ll find him. We’ve just got a good connection that way."

It wasn’t just Santos and Jones leading the way for the Wildcats in the 58-6 victory, though. Tight end Matthew Brady caught a one-yard touchdown pass, Quinn Zimmerman scored on a 60-yard run and also forced a safety on a botched punt attempt, Colby Averett scored on a one-yard run and Porter Fitzgerald returned an interception 23 yards for a score.

And that was just in the first quarter. Through 12 minutes of play, the Wildcats built up a 44-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Jones scored on an eight-yard run and Isaac Tillett found the end zone from 12 yards out to give South Summit a 58-0 halftime advantage.

"Sometimes, when we get on, we’re really on," South Summit coach Jerry Parker said. "It’s amazing how it works out."

With a running clock for the second half, and with the South Summit backups playing the entire time, not much happened. A long drive from the Bulldogs ended with a Luke Siddoway interception. Then, on the second-to-last possession of the game, Gunnison finally found the end zone, scoring on an 11-yard pass to make the final score 58-6.

Parker said the passing game was something the Wildcats needed to get going on Friday night.

"Our intent was to come in and see if we could throw more in this game," he said. "That’s what we did. We gave it a lot of effort there. [Jones and Santos] have a good connection, but we’ve got a couple other kids who can make catches like no other, too. We’ve just got to get them all worked in."

Jones said the improved passing performance was also a product of taking what the defense was giving them.

"They were pressing and we just went over the top with our fast guys and it worked out perfectly," he said. "They’re so trustworthy. You know you can count on them to get open and make the catch."

Keeping all the talented skill-position players involved in the game is one of Parker’s biggest challenges as a coach, he said.

"It’s getting hard," he said. "We’ve got to spread the ball around a lot. We have playmakers and we’re trying to get them all involved."

One playmaker who is stepping up in all three aspects of the game is Zimmerman. In addition to forcing a safety on a botched punt snap and scoring on a 60-yard run, the senior also intercepted a pass and blocked a punt, setting up the Wildcats in excellent field position both times.

"This is the Quinn of the end of last year," Parker said. "He’s coming on. He’s been really effective, and that’s how he was at the end of last year. It was a little bit of a slow start for him, but now he’s on."

Zimmerman credited the crowd energy for spurring him to a great game.

"I think it was just the atmosphere and the whole homecoming vibe we had all week," he said. "It just made me play out of my mind, I guess you could say. I’m improving every game. That’s what I strive for – to be better every game."

Santos and Harley Georgi also had interceptions as part of a four-takeaway effort from the South Summit defense.

Next up for the Wildcats is a road game against Layton Christian (3-3 overall, 2-1 in 2A North). The game will take place at 4 p.m. because Layton Christian doesn’t have lights on its football field. Zimmerman said the team will focus on coming out with the same level of energy it did on Friday night.

"The key is, we need to keep our eyes on the big prize [a state championship]," he said. "Since that loss against Morgan [in week two], we won’t underestimate any opponent."

South Summit (5-1 overall, 3-0 in 2A North) will head to Coalville on Friday, Oct. 10, for a showdown against Summit County rival North Summit. That game will kick off at 7 p.m.


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