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Bluffdale • Summit Academy got off to a hot start and proved to be too much to handle as South Summit suffered its first loss of the season, falling to the Bears 49-42 in a key 2A showdown Friday night.

Summit Academy was led by quarterback Isaac Hamilton, who was responsible for six of the team's seven touchdowns on the night. Jeb Denos also had himself a night to remember, scoring twice and getting a key interception on defense.

The Bears started out just about as good as they could have hoped for, cruising to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter.

"I just asked the guys, 'Why not us?' I am very proud of our guys. South Summit has a great team, but we were able to jump out on them early and our defense was fantastic," said Summit Academy coach Les Hamilton.

The first points of the game came when Isaac Hamilton connected with wideout Baylor Harding for a 24-yard touchdown. The Bears quickly doubled their lead on a short touchdown run by Denos to make it a 14-0 score. After South Summit chose to go for it on fourth down and failed to convert, they gave the Bears the ball back with terrific field position. Summit Academy seemed to be running away with it early when Hamilton found Parker Clawson on a 32-yard touchdown. After the extra point was no good, South Summit was finally able to get on the board early in the second quarter on a short TD run by Riley Bayles to make it 20-7. The Wildcats seemed to have grabbed the momentum and were threatening to make it a one score game when Denos stepped in front of a Wildcat receiver and intercepted the pass in the end zone.

The Bears added to their lead let in the half when Hamilton connected with Denos on a 5-yard touchdown, taking a 27-7 lead into the locker room.

South Summit came alive in the second half and began to claw its way back on a 20 yard touchdown reception by Parker Grajek.

Denos had his second rushing touchdown of the night early in the third quarter to make it a 34-14 game.

Late in the quarter, Harding got his second touchdown of the game and a 2-point conversion by Denos increased the Bears' lead to 42-14. South Summit would not give up, and 14 unanswered points made it a close game late.

After throwing for five touchdowns, Hamilton decided to keep the ball and ran it in to the end zone to make for a 49-28 lead.

The Wildcats made it interesting after a 1-yard touchdown run by Beasley made it a two-score game. A late touchdown and a failed onside kick would not be enough for South Summit, which fell to 6-1 and 2-1 in region play. Summit Academy improved to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in conference games.

"The guys left it all out on the field. We were kind of lucky to get out of there in the end. We got tired there at the end but we were able to get back in it," added Hamilton. —

Storylines

• Summit Academy builds a surprising 20-0 lead in the first quarter.

• QB Isaac Hamilton is responsible for six TDs, and Jeb Denos scores twice and grabs a key interception.

• South Summit is dealt its first loss of the season after its late rally comes up short.