Photos and story by Justin Adams | [email protected]

The Alta high school football team came away with a 49-7 victory over the Farmington Phoenix on Friday night, led by a dominant performance by a quarterback making his first varsity start.

"On Monday I was definitely nervous," said Cinco Lucero, Alta's junior quarterback who filled in for an injured Indy Hanson. "But as the week went on and I practiced with the team, I gained more confidence and control."

That preparation paid off, as Lucero finished the game completing 22 of 32 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns.

"I think I did pretty well. I just dialed down and focused on the training I've been working on all year," he told the Sandy Journal after the game. 

The biggest beneficiary of Lucero's big game was senior wide receiver Samson Peaua, who finished the game with eight catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns. Prior to Friday's game, Peaua only had 1 catch for 11 yards through the first 3 games of the season. 

Senior running back Dallin Pan also had a productive and efficient night, racking up 120 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries.

The Alta defense pitched a shutout in the first half, but was derailed a bit in the third quarter due to injury.

"We lost some really key defensive players," said defensive coordinator Jim Herman. "We're not very deep and our leadership really rests on a couple guys and those guys got hurt. We were a little discombobulated with guys playing positions they don't usually play."

Herman said he was proud of his defense for overcoming that obstacle and limiting Farmington to seven points.

Head coach Alema Te'o said he was glad the team got the win, but wasn't satisfied with the overall effort, giving the team a B-.

"We could have played a lot better than we did. I felt like we were a little complacent in certain areas," he said. "Our effort has to get better."

Alta's next game will be against Weber High School, this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Alta High School.