So, how do you slow down a team that's been averaging 36 points a game?

Lone Peak's defense showed that interceptions work very nicely, thank you.

The Knights collected six against West Jordan's vaunted spread offense and then converted five of them into points as they eliminated the Jaguars 27-6 in the first round of the 5A state playoffs Friday evening in Highland.

It didn't take long for the tally to begin.

West Jordan was positioned near midfield to start its first drive, but on the fourth play, quarterback Adam Boelter attempted a deep pass and Lone Peak defensive back Jacob Hannemann came down with it at the 4-yard line.

After Jared Fenton and Kyson Flake combined to rush for a first down, Knight quarterback Tannon Pedersen connected with Hannemann for a 5-yard gain.

Two downs later, he tossed the ball down to Ryan Savage along the left sideline and the receiver took off, leaving his defender behind and with nothing in front but grass on the way to the end zone.

On the third play of the next Jaguar possession, Flake brought some heat on Boelter and he then threw the ball right into the arms of Fenton at the WJ 45.

On the subsequent third down, Pedersen found Eric Pollard ahead of his cover man on the right side and dropped the ball in front of him. Pollard stretched for a nice grab and finished the play in the end zone.

Ryne MacPherson converted both PATs, and just like that, Lone Peak was up 14-0 with only 6:12 gone on the clock.

About halfway through the second quarter, lineman McKay Murphy tipped an attempted pass and Flake came down with it at the LP 30.

This time, the Knights required a more sustained drive to reach the red zone, but the result was the same as Pedersen connected with Savage from six yards out to make it 21-0 at the break.

In the second half, Hannemann tipped another long pass try away from the Jaguar receiver and caught it himself. Shortly thereafter, MacPherson turned that into three more points with a 40-yard boot.

In the fourth quarter, a Dax Eisinger pick resulted in another 40-yard field goal to complete Lone Peak scoring for the contest.

The sixth grab, courtesy of Kolton Palmer, came in the LP end zone. The Jaguars later erased the shutout with a meaningless score against reserves with 29 seconds to go.

Some of West Jordan's key players did produce for them in this game, including C.J. O'Neal, who showed why he was their leading receiver. Leading tackler Colton Van Comen's name was called often too, but they both just needed more help.

The home team used nine different receivers and six rushers. Pedersen was 13-of-17 for 227 yards and three touchdowns just in the first half. Pollard pulled in three passes for 112 yards.

"Our offense dominated the first half in producing those three TD plays," said Knight coach Tony McGeary. "We did a good job mixing the run and the pass.

"The defense did a great job against their spread offense with a very good quarterback and one of the state's leading receivers," he added.

"I'm really proud of the boys and the way they played. We're just going to stay focused on one game at a time, keep up our conditioning and keep improving.

"We can play better offensively than we did tonight, and if we keep taking away what the next opponent can do, we'll keep living another week," the coach concluded.

Next Friday, Lone Peak (9-2) visits Hunter (7-3) for a quarterfinal match-up. The Wolverines finished second in Region 2 and defeated Weber 24-20 at home last night to advance.

The only common opponent the two teams have had is Brighton, which beat Hunter 31-0 on Sept. 4 and lost to the Knights 23-7 the next week.

• Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com.

Lone Peak 27, West Jordan 6

West Jordan 0 0 0 6 6

Lone Peak 14 7 3 3 27

LP - Ryan Savage 80 pass from Tannon Pedersen (Ryne MacPherson kick)

LP - Eric Pollard 55 pass from Pedersen (MacPherson kick)

LP - Savage 6 pass from Pedersen (MacPherson kick)

LP - MacPherson 40 field goal

LP - MacPherson 40 field goal

WJ - C.J. O'Neal 14 pass from Adam Boelter ( kick failed)