Prep football: Explosive plays help Weber outscore Syracuse 45-27
Four of Weber's six TDs scored on plays of 50-plus yards
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- Syracuse’s Kaleb Hall (28) can’t keep Weber’s Dyson Parker (11) out of the end zone on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Tyler Payne, top, brings down Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse’s AJ DeHorney (2) is upended by Weber’s Tyson Higgs, lower left, and Tyler Payne, center, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse quarterback Ledger Wight (4) throws a pass as lineman Mulivai Pula (77) blocks on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Devon Neilson (7) intercepts a pass intended for Syracuse’s Roman Wilder (3) on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse’s AJ DeHorney, left, runs with the football against Weber on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Ty Hellman, right, runs with the football as teammate Jagger Hammer, center, tangles with Syracuse’s Madden Nelson (32) on the perimeter on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse’s Ryker Van Komen, right, tries to escape Weber’s Caden Lindholm on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Alex Johnson (33) kicks off as Syracuse’s Madden Nelson (32) looks on in a game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High students cheer during a football game on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Dyson Parker runs the football against Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Crew Cacciacarne throws a pass against Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Dyson Parker, left, and Kelton Tree celebrate a touchdown against Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Weber High’s Jagger Hammer, left, tries to break free from Syracuse’s Trey Barnes on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
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- Syracuse approaches the ball for kickoff against Weber on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Pleasant View.
PLEASANT VIEW — Weber High football had a team goal to score 50 points against Syracuse on Friday night and, although the Warriors came up just short, 45 was more than enough.
The Warriors scored three touchdowns in each half and topped the Titans 45-27 in a Region 1 shootout.
“(Coach Matt) Hammer said we’ve got to go put up 50. That’s what we were aiming for,” Weber senior quarterback Crew Cacciacarne said. “The coaches put together a great game plan. Don’t stop until the clock hits zero. That’s Coach Mo’s (Cannon) motto. Forty-eight minutes.”
Cacciacarne threw four touchdown passes and was part of a double pass that led to a fifth Weber TD toss.
“I’ve got dudes around me to go make plays. They put me in position to ball out there,” Cacciacarne said. “The matchups Ian (Elmore) had with the backup corner … we wanted to attack it. That’s the way they were playing it; just go after them.”
Elmore caught three of Cacciacarne’s touchdown passes for romps of 77, 60 and 30 yards.
“Honestly, it comes down to my guys. The line giving (Cacciacarne) time. He threw a perfect ball; me doing my job,” Elmore said. “We knew (the long plays) were going to pay off. Hit them with the short stuff and the long stuff will come.”
For Syracuse, Ryker Van Komen rushed for three touchdowns — two for 1 yard and one 15-yarder.
Weber (5-2, 1-1 Region 1) had a first-and-goal late in the second quarter with a 24-7 lead and came up a half-yard short on fourth down.
Instead of letting that missed opportunity carry over into the second half, the Warriors opened the third period with a four-play, 80-yard drive and found paydirt on a double pass — Cacciacarne to Dyson Parker to Tyson Higgs — for a 29-yard touchdown and a 31-7 lead.
Things then became a track meet as the teams scored points on six straight possessions, alternating touchdowns until midway through the fourth quarter.
Van Komen scored his second touchdown of the game, on a 15-yard run, making it 31-13 with 4:51 left in the third.
A minute and a half later, Cacciacarne threw a short pass to Tyler Payne over the middle that Payne turned into a 51-yard touchdown and Weber was ahead 38-13.
Syracuse (4-3, 1-1) marched right back and completed a drive on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Ledger Wight to Burke Rountree and the Titans again closed the gap to 38-21, still in the third quarter.
Cacciacarne’s fourth touchdown pass, and third to Elmore, was the opening play of the fourth quarter, and Weber’s final points, at 45-21 with 11:55 remaining.
One more touchdown by Van Komen, a 1-yarder and third for the Titans, came with 7:06 to play and the 45-27 margin.
Weber dominated both sides of the ball to lead 24-7 at the break.
The Warriors scored on four of their six first-half possessions while the defense forced a trio of three-and-outs and grabbed two interceptions (by Higgs and Devon Neilson).
“We got off to a good start. Our defense got a stop and that helped us out. Kept it rolling from there,” Cacciacarne said.
Special teams played a role, as Weber kicker Alex Johnson put five kickoffs into the endzone, which meant Syracuse had poor field position, starting at its own 20 each time.
After a Syracuse punt, Parker scored on a 52-yard run on Weber’s third play from scrimmage and the Warriors had a 7-0 lead with 10:06 left in the first quarter.
Johnson nailed a 25-yard field goal midway through the period, making it 10-0 for Weber.
Syracuse got on the board with a 1-yard Van Komen run late in the quarter, closing the gap to 10-7.
The Warriors countered with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Cacciacarne to Elmore, increasing the lead to 17-7 on the first play in the second stanza.
Cacciacarne and Elmore connected again at the 3:58 mark for a 60-yard touchdown for the 24-7 halftime mark.
“It comes down to executing in the moment. We executed well,” Elmore said. “There’s still a lot of stuff to work on, but we got the win. That’s all that matters. On to the next one.”
