The full moon gets partially covered by clouds during the Region 3 game between Lone Peak and Westlake in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
It was one of those October nights where it felt like strange things could happen on the football field.
The ambiance for the Region 3 battle between Lone Peak and Westlake in Saratoga Springs was enhanced by the full moon casting a spooky glow through the clouds, a chill wind blowing from the southeast and the Thunder drill team pulling out a classic "Thriller" routine for the halftime show.
There was also the fact that it was a Wednesday game (thanks to this week's fall break) and both teams were dealing with numerous injuries.
All of those factors combined to create a setting for something unexpected to take place and it did ... for a half.
The Thunder held the heavily-favored Knights to just a pair of field goals and a 17-yard interception for a touchdown by senior Landon Goff while Westlake got a 20-yard pick-6 of its own from sophomore Dax Schaugaard, making the score 13-7 at the break.
Lone Peak, however, scored a pair of special teams touchdowns and stymied the Thunder offense to pull away for the 35-13 win.
"Sometimes you've got to win ugly," Knight head coach Bart Brockbank said. "I thought the boys came and did well. Defensively we weren't as hurt as on offense, where we're down a little few guys, but everybody who played stepped up. It was about the next guy up."
The biggest play for Lone Peak was likely the first play of the second half, as Goff caught the opening kickoff, drifted right, found a seam and raced 98 yards for a touchdown. With Knight senior quarterback Luke Christensen hitting senior receiver Ty Cogswell for the two-point conversion, that pushed the advantage to 21-7 for the visitors and they never looked back.
Lone Peak added a 6-yard TD run by Christensen and the second special teams score, which came after a high snap allowed Knight senior Charlie Wright to get a piece of a Westlake punt. It landed in the hands of Lone Peak junior Anthon Grimmer who took it 36 yards to the end zone.
"Our defense and special teams felt like they kind of needed to step up and help the offense a little bit," Brockbank said. "They did a good job taking the pressure off. We did some other things that were good and the defense was stout all night."
The Thunder did get one score back in the final minute when senior Nusi Taumoepeau powered in from three yards out.
With the regular season having come to a close, Lone Peak and Westlake now wait to see where they will be slotted in the 6A state tournament. The Knights (8-2) will likely have a first-round bye and have a chance to heal up before starting their playoff run.
"I feel good if we can get healthy," Brockbank said. "I think we've got a shot just as much as anybody. I think we played all the top competitions so far and have proven we can beat them. I feel really good if we can get healthy and get the boys believing."
He grinned as he talked about the excitement of heading into elimination games where every contest is win-or-go-home.
"I love the playoffs," Brockbank said. "The regular season is fun but when you get to the playoffs, the intensity steps up. You see how the kids perform under pressure. Even though we've been in some pressure situations, now if you lose, you go home. It'll be interesting to see some of these guys, how they handle it and how they grow."
He sees the key to Lone Peak making a deep run as being locked in and doing things the right way.
"What we can do is we can execute every play," Brockbank said. "That's what we've been focusing on. Whoever is in needs to do their job and execute. If we do that, we're a great team. If we try to win things individually, e struggle as a team. We've seen that at times this year. But when we come out and the defense plays together and the offense plays together and we're doing our jobs, we're a really good team."
Westlake (2-8) will likely start with a first-round matchup on Oct. 25. The official 6A playoff bracket is scheduled to be released on Saturday at 10 a.m. and can be found at http://UHSAA.org.