Juan Diego Catholic dropped to 1-9 after a 49-0 shutout loss at Richfield on Thursday, Oct. 15, in a nonregion game.
The Soaring Eagle have now lost four straight, all by wide margins. It was the third shutout of the season for Juan Diego.
The Wildcats (8-2), ranked No. 3 in the Deseret News' 3A poll, scored 21 points in the first quarter and added 14 in each of the second and third quarters. Richfield's defense held Juan Diego scoreless throughout.
Juan Diego has been outscored 473-129 across 10 games this season, according to MaxPreps. The Soaring Eagle went 0-6 on the road and 1-5 in 4A Region 10 play, finishing sixth in the region standings. Their lone win came Sept. 17 at home against Cottonwood, a 48-3 region victory.
Only one game all season was competitive. Juan Diego lost 42-37 at Carbon on Aug. 28. Every other defeat came by at least 27 points, including a 44-0 loss at Timpanogos to open the year on Aug. 14 and a 62-0 home loss to Highland on Oct. 2.
The season fell well short of preseason expectations. A Deseret News preview published Aug. 1 picked the Soaring Eagle fifth in the Region 10 coaches poll. Juan Diego returned junior quarterback Jacoby Ahlstrom, who threw for 1,373 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and sophomore running back Sione "One" Vea, who rushed for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior linebacker Kysen Dowland led the defense with 75 tackles a year ago.
First-year head coach Trever McFalls, a Juan Diego alum who came to Draper after serving as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Snow College, inherited a program that went 2-9 last season. McFalls said in August that his squad would be "full of youth and new faces that are eager to turn things around."
Turning things around will have to wait. The UHSAA football playoff bracket reveal is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. on KSLsports.com, with final rankings available on UHSAA.org at 11 a.m. or after the show.
