High school boys lacrosse: Corner Canyon and Fremont advance to 6A championship game

The 6A boys lacrosse semifinals were played at Westminster’s Dumke Field in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, with top-seeded Corner Canyon and Fremont advancing to the state championship game with wins over Farmington and Davis, respectively.

Corner Canyon 15, Farmington 0

Corner Canyon asserted that it’s still the dominant force in 6A boys lacrosse with an emphatic 15-0 semifinal win against Farmington.

The Chargers want to prove to themselves that they are still the top dogs despite graduating many players after last season.

“I think in our locker room we felt that a lot of people doubted us because we graduated a lot of guys and I think this was a perfect example of what these guys are capable of,” said Corner Canyon head coach Aaron Ika.

“They’ve all contributed one way or another the last few years and they’re getting their turn to shine right now.”

The Chargers pressed on the gas early Wednesday and never let up. The constant offensive pressure resulted in a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, and Corner Canyon kept its offense going and Farmington couldn’t keep up.

Chargers senior Jacob Osborn led the way with five goals in the semifinal win. Osborn has had a strong season with over 40 goals and over 25 assists, showing why he has committed to play for the University of Utah.

“It just starts from the first whistle, just that confidence going into that game knowing who we are,” said Osborn.

“Ever since the first whistle, we’re going. We put our trust in each other. We know who we are, we know who we put on this field, so we know if anyone is walking off someone else is stepping up. We’re not done yet; we have one more game to go.”

Corner Canyon has won every state championship since lacrosse’s inaugural 2021 season, and is primed to take its third in a row.

Ika credits the success to his players’ collective ability to just be themselves.

“I think the guys have bought into what the coaches have asked,” said Ika. “All the coaches know what our strengths are, and we try to put the kids in the best position to be themselves.

“My message to them before the game was ‘Go out there and be you, play your game.’”

Fremont 17, Davis 16

When your team goes to double overtime in a semifinal game against a region foe with a trip to the state championship game on the line, who puts in the golden goal for the win? Your top scorer or a senior leader?

Well, for Fremont it was a freshman, Owen Hill.

Fremont and Davis have had tight battles in both regular season games this year, and Wednesday's semifinal match was no different.

Through the first three quarters, the Silverwolves built up a 10-6 lead. Through those quarters there were multiple costly mistakes from Davis that allowed Fremont to build the lead.

Fremont had all the momentum heading into the fourth, but when a medical incident from the crowd put the game on hold, it gave Davis the chance to catch its breath.

When play resumed, the Darts went on a rampage. Davis scored four goals in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the game 10-10.

“We kind of came out flat-footed and they got a couple of goals,” said Fremont coach Brad Searle. “Before then we had all the momentum going for us and all of a sudden Davis came out and punched us right in the mouth.

“Next thing we knew we were tied up and we knew it was a game. I thought coming into this game it was going to be a one-point game either way so I knew Davis wasn’t done. That’s how matched up we are with Davis. They’re a fantastic, well-coached team. They’ve got some players that really lit us up and we have to fix some of those bugs and get ready for Corner Canyon.”

From that moment, the Darts and Silverwovles traded goals, which resulted in a 16-16 tie after regulation.

With the season on the line, both teams played tight defense and pushed the game to double overtime.

Searle says he didn’t say much to his boys between the two overtime periods.

“All ll I said was ‘We deserve to be here, they deserve to be here, and somebody is going to deliver that knockout blow, it’s just got to be us. Just go play,’” said Searle.

After a few minutes of the same back and fourth defense, Fremont’s Hill found the golden goal.

“It feels so hype,” Hill said. “I feel so proud, and I couldn’t have done it without my team. It's not me, it’s the team. I just happened to put the ball in the net.”