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North Summit football shuts out Layton Christian

Tristan Woolstenhulme, shown here during a game last season, scored two touchdowns and ran for more than 150 yards in North Summit s season-opening 45-0 victory at Layton Christian.
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Though the North Summit High School football team lost many of its key offensive contributors from last season, it proved Friday it’s still a force to be reckoned with at the 2A level this season.

Travelling to Layton Christian for the season opener, the Braves wasted no time asserting their dominance, scoring 45 points in the first three quarters en route to a 45-0 shutout victory.

North Summit took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, with quarterback Braxten Northrup scoring on a one-yard run. The floodgates opened in the second quarter as Tristan Woolstenhulme scored on runs of five and three yards, Rand Pentz scored on an 11-yard run and Carter Wardrop recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for another score to give the Braves a 32-0 halftime lead.

After halftime, Northrup added another one-yard touchdown run and Chris Richins added yet another touchdown on the ground to put the Braves up 45-0, at which point the starters took a seat and some backups got playing time at the varsity level.

Though the Braves only scored six points in the first quarter before exploding for 26 in the second, Coach Devin Smith said the North Summit offense was still in control in the opening minutes of the game.

"In the first quarter, we had two pretty long, methodical drives that ate up the clock," he said. "We had a blocked punt in the second quarter and got some good field position and capitalized. Then we were able to get some [JV] guys in to play in the third and fourth quarters."

Smith said the offensive line, one of the biggest strengths of this year’s team, had a great night opening running lanes for Woolstenhulme and the rest of the Braves’ running backs.

"[Woolstenhulme] ran really well," he said. "He ran hard. Even though he’s not really big, he’s strong and hard to bring down. He had a big game and the line did a great job out front. Overall, I was really pleased with how hard our backs ran and how well the line played."

Despite scoring 45 points on offense, Smith said the defense might have actually had the better overall game on Friday. The Braves managed to hold Layton Christian to under 100 yards of total offense.

"Our defense is really good," he said. "Fifty-five of those yards were on one pass play that our linebacker tried to pick off and they completed it and ran. Those plays happen, but we played well on defense like I expected us to."

Smith said the defense’s success starts with the defensive line, which features Wardrop and twins Braden and Mason Richins as the starters in a three-man front.

"They had a great game," he said. "We had a pleasant surprise in Tyler Coleman who rotated in with them. All four of them did an outstanding job."

By starting just three defensive linemen, the Braves are able to put five linebackers on the field at a time. Smith said that was a big part of Friday’s success.

"I felt like we played the run really well and were able to defend the pass when they threw it," he said. "I liked what I saw."

Six of the Braves’ 45 points came on Wardrop’s blocked punt recovery, leading Smith to say he was pleased with the North Summit special teams units.

"Our kickoff team played much better," he said. "We did allow one return to about the 40, which is more than we’d like to give up. Other than that, we covered them very well. Then, on the punt, it was either Braden or Mason that blocked it and Carter fell on it in the end zone. Any time you can get a big play in any aspect of special teams, it’s huge."

Now North Summit (1-0) will prepare to play Duchesne, a tough 1A school that saw its multi-year winning streak end at the hands of the Braves last season. Even with Friday’s success, Smith said he’s preparing for a tough battle against Duchesne.

"I know they’re big up front," he said. "Duchesne is very well-coached. They’ll be ready, there’s no question. We know that and hopefully we’ll be ready for the challenge."

Friday night’s game in Coalville is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at North Summit High School.


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