By Catherine Garrett | [email protected]

Corner Canyon’s remarkable string of consecutive state wins and state championships both came to an end this season. The 48-game winning streak – which tied a state record – was stopped by Lone Peak Oct. 7 when the Knights defeated the Chargers 41-16. The three straight state title run was also halted by Lone Peak Nov. 19 at Rice Eccles Stadium when the Knights outlasted Corner Canyon in a shootout 49-42.

“Overall, I felt that our team performed well during the state tournament,” said head coach Eric Kjar. “We didn’t finish the way we wanted. I thought our kids played really hard and competed well.”

In the 6A state playoffs, the Chargers beat Kearns 49-14, American Fork 45-28 and Weber 48-13 to reach the 6A championship game.

Senior wide receiver Jett Meine said, “This year’s season was awesome. It definitely wasn’t the ending we were hoping for, but it was great to be a part of and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Corner Canyon finished the season with a 12-2 record, outscoring opponents 672 to 247.

“I feel good about our team’s season,” senior defensive lineman Dawson Jacobsen said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted, but we played really hard and had a great year.”

The Chargers’ 48-game winning streak began in 2018 and spanned three entire seasons until the midway point of this fall’s lineup.

“That streak was a great accomplishment by the program over the years,” senior linebacker Harrison Taggart said. “It speaks greatly of Coach Kjar, Coach Sutera and all of my amazing coaches.”

Kjar was proud of his team for winning a share of the Region 4 title, particularly with how competitive the region is. “We had to replace some key players from the year before and those players stepped up and played well,” he said. 

Senior wide receiver Cody Hagen, who is committed to BYU, was recently named the 2021 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, joining his older brother and father who also received the recognition. “It was an awesome honor,” Hagen said. “It is nice to see the hard work pay off!”

Other records broken this season by CCHS players were the state passing yards record in a season by senior quarterback – and Ohio State-commit – Devin Brown, the state Point-After-Attempts (PATs) record for a season by senior Cody Christensen and the state career tackles mark by Taggart, who will play for Oregon.

Senior linebacker Micah Wilson will also be playing collegiately next season – deciding to become the third in his family to suit up for BYU. Kjar said other Corner Canyon players will be committing or signing to programs soon to continue playing at the next level.

“This season was a ton of fun,” senior offensive lineman James Lebaron said. “Although we didn’t get the ending we wanted, I am still extremely grateful to have been able to be a part of such an amazing team.”

Kjar said that staff and players are focused on reloading talent to continue the high level of play that the Chargers have become known for. “The tough, but also fun part, of high school football is continually trying to replace and develop the players in our program,” he said. “We have  a lot to replace and we will have a very young team next year so our offseason development will be huge.”