Corner Canyon (UT) hands IMG Academy only its third loss in five years: 5 takeaways

The Ascenders lost in a season opener for the second time in three years

Corner Canyon football vs Bishop Gorman August 19, 2022. /

When the clock hit all zeros at Corner Canyon High School on Thursday night, the party was on in Draper, Utah.

The No. 16 nationally ranked Chargers (2-0) just completed a stunning come-from-behind 35-34 upset victory over the No. 4 nationally ranked IMG Academy Ascenders (0-1), giving Corner Canyon one of the program's arguably greatest victories.

Corner Canyon (Utah) stuns IMG Academy, the No. 4-ranked football team in the country

We can't just leave everyone without any takeaways from the game, because there was plenty of them. Checkout our 5 takeaways from last night's thriller in Draper.

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Corner Canyon's Jerome Myles is him

There's a reason universities around the country want the services of Myles. Because he's that dude and he surely proved it in front of a national audience on Thursday night against elite competition. Anytime the 5-star wide receiver got 1-on-1 coverage, Myles would toast the defensive back in front of him, finishing the night with five catches for 125 yards and multiple scores. The game-winner was caught by Myles, in just another example of how he proved he is him.

Lack of a kicking game proved critical at the end

Multiple opportunities to put points on the board via the kicking game were for whatever reason passed up by Billy Miller and crew. Question is why? In what proved to be a turning point in the game, in the third quarter the Ascenders faced a 4th & 8 at the Corner Canyon 8-yard line and went for it instead of kicking a field goal. IMG came up empty and then at the end of the game, Miller decided to go for the potential game-winning 2-point conversion instead of game-tying extra point. Was is decision making or just lack of faith in the Ascenders' ability to kick field goals?

Why did IMG Academy take their foot off the gas pedal?

It seemed like up 28-14 coming out of intermission, IMG Academy decided to slightly take their foot off the proverbial gas pedal. Yes, they made the aggressive fourth down call to go for it instead of kicking a field goal. Difference between the opening half and latter was the decisions to push the ball downfield via SMU commit Ty Hawkins or sticking with the run game. It might be nit picking a little, but in such a tight contest like Thursday night, riding the hot hand of Hawkins might've been the move.

Helaman Casuga was masterful in the passing game

The 4-star 2026 quarterback proved to anyone doubting his abilities on the big stage if he can get it done. Casuga got it done through the air and even on the ground at times. Casuga finished the night completing 22-of-31 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns, also rushing for 38. Every major Power 4 school should be taking a look at the Chargers' quarterback after Thursday night's performance.

Did Corner Canyon provide the 2024 blueprint to beating IMG Academy?

There's some teams coming up on IMG Academy's schedule that have some similar makeups when it comes to comparisons to Corner Canyon. The Chargers have a talented quarterback-wide receiver duo, with a solid offensive line. You can add Florida teams like Cocoa (Brady Hart-Jayvan Boggs) and Mandarin (Tramell Jones-Jaime Ffrench) as clubs with similar makeups to Corner Canyon. The blueprint was provided on Thursday night, but can other teams execute it like the Chargers did is another question.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl