Dallin Pan leads Alta Football past Weber with 5 TD's
Sep 17, 2018 12:55PM ● By Jana Klopsch
Senior running back Dallin Pan waltzes into the endzone for one of his five touchdowns on the night.
The Alta high school football team ended its non-region schedule with a 36-23 victory over Weber, powered by a 5-touchdown night from senior running back Dallin Pan.
"I know the line will hold it down and I just protect the ball," said Pan after the game, who finished with 33 carries for 206 yards plus 2 catches for 54 yards.
"He's a very talented player," said offensive coordinator Riley Jensen. "My guess is that at 95 percent of the schools last year he could have been the starting running back. I told him 'you have to be patient because when your time comes, it's going to be a great season.' And that's what it's looking like right now."
This is the first year that Pan has received significant playing time, as stand-out running backs Josh Davis and Zach Engstrom dominated the backfield for Alta during the last two years.
"You can almost start calling this running back high school," said Jensen. "When you start looking at Josh Davis, you look at Zach Engstrom, you look at Dallin Pan. If they can handle the load, we're going to give them the ball."
Just as important to the running game is of course the offensive line. Alta's has made a lot of progress since the team's opening game, according to Jensen.
"I think you could see tonight that we can really pound the rock. I think we're getting a lot better on the offensive line. We're right where we need to be for region next week."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks gave up 23 points, which is tied for the most they've given up in a game this year (the other was in a loss against East).
"I thought the defense played 95% fantastic and 5% not so good," said defensive coordinator Jim Herman. "Football often comes down to 4 or 5 plays and that's about how many plays we gave up tonight."
Among the "95% fantastic" plays by the defense was a sequence on Weber's first drive of the second half. The Warriors had marched all the way down the field to within the Alta 5-yard line. But on the next four consecutive plays, the Alta defense closed the door on Weber and forced them into settling for a field goal.
"That [series] says a ton about our defense. I was really proud of them," said Herman.
The defense was also without two of its key leaders, twin brothers and linebackers Eric and Brandon Folau, who both sat out after sustaining injuries during last week's game. Herman said that he was very proud of the players who have stepped in and filled their roles.
"I thought they played great. Missing Eric and Brandon is huge. We had some guys out of position but they played outstanding."
Region play begins for Alta this weekend as they welcome the Cottonwood Colts (1-4) to the Hawks' home stadium.
"I know the line will hold it down and I just protect the ball," said Pan after the game, who finished with 33 carries for 206 yards plus 2 catches for 54 yards.
"He's a very talented player," said offensive coordinator Riley Jensen. "My guess is that at 95 percent of the schools last year he could have been the starting running back. I told him 'you have to be patient because when your time comes, it's going to be a great season.' And that's what it's looking like right now."
This is the first year that Pan has received significant playing time, as stand-out running backs Josh Davis and Zach Engstrom dominated the backfield for Alta during the last two years.
"You can almost start calling this running back high school," said Jensen. "When you start looking at Josh Davis, you look at Zach Engstrom, you look at Dallin Pan. If they can handle the load, we're going to give them the ball."
Just as important to the running game is of course the offensive line. Alta's has made a lot of progress since the team's opening game, according to Jensen.
"I think you could see tonight that we can really pound the rock. I think we're getting a lot better on the offensive line. We're right where we need to be for region next week."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawks gave up 23 points, which is tied for the most they've given up in a game this year (the other was in a loss against East).
"I thought the defense played 95% fantastic and 5% not so good," said defensive coordinator Jim Herman. "Football often comes down to 4 or 5 plays and that's about how many plays we gave up tonight."
Among the "95% fantastic" plays by the defense was a sequence on Weber's first drive of the second half. The Warriors had marched all the way down the field to within the Alta 5-yard line. But on the next four consecutive plays, the Alta defense closed the door on Weber and forced them into settling for a field goal.
"That [series] says a ton about our defense. I was really proud of them," said Herman.
The defense was also without two of its key leaders, twin brothers and linebackers Eric and Brandon Folau, who both sat out after sustaining injuries during last week's game. Herman said that he was very proud of the players who have stepped in and filled their roles.
"I thought they played great. Missing Eric and Brandon is huge. We had some guys out of position but they played outstanding."
Region play begins for Alta this weekend as they welcome the Cottonwood Colts (1-4) to the Hawks' home stadium.
