And that was just the first half. Those sobering statistics motivated the Lancers.

Layton coach Jim Batchelor didn't need to do much yelling. The message was clear: Clean up the mental mistakes. And the Lancers did in the second half, but in the end it was crucial mental mistakes that resulted in the Lancers' 40-36 loss to 4A Cottonwood.

"It could have been nerves. It could have been inexperience. We gave them 13 points in the first half," Layton coach Jim Batchelor said. "It made us shell-shocked and it took us a quarter to get out of it."

Mistakes plagued the Lancers in the first half. It started when Cottonwood's Eric Pauni stripped Layton quarterback Cameron Applegate, recovered the fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. Two more costly mistakes paved the way for two Cottonwood touchdowns and put the Colts up 26-7.

But after the Colts went up 19 points, Layton rallied and came up with its most effective march of the first half. Karl Williams' 6-yard touchdown run capped off an 81-yard drive. Still, it wasn't pretty. The Lancers had three false start penalties and Applegate nearly threw an interception.

The Lancers managed to score on their next possession, as a 43-yard pass from Applegate to Josh Johnson helped Layton trim the lead to 26-21 at halftime.

"Cashing in on turnovers was huge," Cottonwood coach Cecil Thomas said. "But they're fighters."

Layton fought back for the lead in the second half. But that lead was never safe.

With 3:26 left in the game, the Colts needed just two plays to set up Isi Sofele for a 26-yard touchdown run to give Cottonwood the 40-36 lead.

He finished with 92 yards on 11 carries.

The Lancers had several chances to secure the game. Before Sofele's run, Layton gave up five yards after being called for a delay-of-game penalty on a third-and-one situation. And after the Colts took the lead, Applegate had good-looking passes to Josh Johnson and Thomas, but both times the ball slipped out of their hands.

mthach@sltrib.com

* Cottonwood's Steve Romero completes 14 of 24 passes for 228 yards.

* Isi Sofele leads the Colts with 92 yards on 11 carries.

* Mistakes are costly for the Lancers, but Layton still had a chance to pull out the victory.