Red Devils end season on a positive note

Evanston beats Jackson 63-16

Josh Hall
Posted 10/20/17

The Evanston High School football team closed out the 2017 campaign on Friday with a 63-16 win over Jackson.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Red Devils end season on a positive note

Evanston beats Jackson 63-16

Posted

EVANASTON — There wasn’t a playoff spot on the line. There wasn’t a reason to worry about a postseason seed. And there wasn’t a trophy to play for.

The Evanston High School football team knew it was playing in its final game of the season on Friday against Jackson. Some of the players knew it was the last game they would ever play.

The Red Devils learned last week they would not have a chance to make the playoffs after falling to Worland. Since then, they spent the week talking about making Friday’s game a lasting memory. 

It should be a good memory after Evanston jumped out to a commanding lead and rolled to a 63-16 win against the Broncs in a Class 3A West matchup.

“Our seniors led by example tonight,” Evanston coach Pat Fackrell said. “They wanted to come out and play well, and they wanted to play strong. I’m really happy for our seniors and I think it kicks us off to a good start into next year.”

By establishing such a lead, Fackrell went to his bench and gave some new faces some reps late in the game. Some of those faces will be the future of Evanston football. 

But Friday was ultimately about the Red Devils’ seniors.  

“It’s a great feeling that we won, but it’s sad that it’s over,” senior Hunter Groll said.

Groll had an interception late in the third quarter, and on the following possession, he ran for a 51-yard score as Evanston extended its lead to 56-16 with 11:15 to play in the fourth quarter. 

The gam had already long been decided when Gabe Morris ran for a 17-yard score with less than a minute to play.

“It was the same mindset as any other game,” Evanston senior Jess Richins said. “We knew it was our last. We knew we had to do our jobs and execute well. We wanted to go out on a positive note.”

Richins finished his high-school football career with a rushing score and threw for a touchdown to Chandler Anderson. Richins was also 9 for 9 on extra-point attempts.

Co-quarterback Seth Lloyd connected twice with Reid Gross in the first quarter and hit Kody Smith for a score in the second quarter. Lloyd also ran for a score. 

And on the second play from scrimmage, Tyus Cornia ran for a 39-yard touchdown to give the Red Devils a lead they would never give up. 

“You always wonder how you’re going to react when there is nothing to play for,” Fackrell said. “I really feel like these guys tonight had a lot to play for, and it was for one another.” 

Evanston finished the season 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the 3A West. Jackson ended its campaign at 0-8 and 0-6 in in conference play. 

“I’d say it’s one of the better games we played this season,” Richins said. “We did our jobs and played with a lot of emotion and energy. We were all pretty energized for this game. We knew it was our last.”

SCORING SUMMARY

Tyus Cornia 39-yard run. Jess Richins kick. Evanston 7, Jackson 0. 8:28 1Q

Seth Lloyd 15-yard pass to Reid Gross. Richins kick. Evanston 14, Jackson 0. 4:33 1Q

Lloyd 21-yard pass to Gross. Richins kick. Evanston 21, Jackson 0. 2:42 1Q 

Richins 3-yard run. Richins kick. Evanston 28, Jackson 0. 10:22 2Q 

Jeydon Cox 32-yard run. Kirby Castagno run. Evanston 28, Jackson 8 5:12 2Q

Lloyd 24-yard run. Richins kick. Evanston 35, Jackson 8. 2:11 2Q

Lloyd 25-yard pass to Kody Smith. Richins kick. Evanston 42, Jackson 8. 0:10 2Q

Richins 16-yard pass to Chandler Anderson. Richins kick. Evanston 49, Jackson 8 5:06 3Q

Cox 2-yard run. Castagno run. Evanston 49, Jackson 16. 0:47 3Q 

Hunter Groll 51-yard run. Richins kick. Evanston 56, Jackson 16. 11:15 4Q

Gabe Morris 17-yard run. Richins kick. Evanston 63, Jackson 16. 0:15 4Q

SCORE BY QUARTER

EVANSTON 21 21 7 14 — 63

JACKSON 0 8 8 0 — 16

NOTE: See Tuesday's paper for additional football coverage. More photo's will also be uploaded to the Uinta County Herald website and Facebook page over the weekend.