Rigby’s defense steps up and the offense does its part as Trojans down Syracuse to remain unbeaten

RIGBY – The official scorecard after three weeks.

Rigby 3.
Utah 0.

The Trojans rolled to their third straight win over a team from Utah, downing Syracuse 28-14 Friday night in a game that was more competitive than the final score.

Syracuse scored on its first possession, then the Rigby defense stiffened and the Trojans’ offense did its part with with a couple of big scoring plays.

“I’ve seen a commitment to the process,” coach Armando Gonzalez said of the team’s preparation during the week and over the course of the early season. “That game was won on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. This team understands what it takes to prepare each week.”

Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight challenged the Trojan defense early with quick-hit passes and the occasional deep ball.

Down 7-0, Rigby tied the game on a 68-yard scoring run by Chandler Faulkner. Syracuse answered on its next possession with a 26-yard touchdown run by Kao Prom and a 14-7 lead.

That’s when the momentum of the game changed, especially on the defensive side for the Trojans, who shut out the Syracuse offense the remainder of the game.

“That’s a huge game for our defense,” quarterback Evan Freeman said. “Obviously, our offense, we got the job done, but we still got a lot to improve on, that’s for sure.”

Trailing 14-7 midway through the second quarter, Rigby put together an 80-yard drive and found success running the ball. Freeman capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kooper Steffler, who pulled in the pass and just got in the right corner of the end zone.

The Trojans opened the third quarter with another impressive drive and took the lead on a 1-yard burst by Faulkner.

The Rigby defense continued to stop the Syracuse run and put enough pressure on Wight that the pass game was ineffective. Syracuse had a punt and a fumble on its first two drives of the third quarter, and the Trojan defense came up with an interception as the third drive continued into the fourth quarter.

The Trojans put the game away with an impressive 93-yard drive that Faulkner capped with his third score of the day.

Defensive back Kasen Erickson sealed the game with an interception with 1:52 left as Rigby ran out the clock.

“That was one of our better defensive games,” Gonzalez said.

“Twenty-eight points will win a game, but that’s not our offensive standard,” said Freeman, who finished with 112 yards passing and 128 yards rushing. “Our offensive standard is we score every drive. That’s our offensive mentality.”

Faulkner finished with 118 yards rushing as the Trojans amassed 329 rushing yards total.

Rigby (3-0) hosts Minico next Friday and then heads to Box Elder (UT) on Sept. 18.

Note: A parachutist who dropped into the stadium to deliver the game ball landed awkwardly on the field and was eventually treated by medical personnel and taken away by ambulance. No other information was available.