Corner Canyon's new head coach Casey Sutera didn't need long to make his mark. The Chargers exploded for 30 unanswered points in the third quarter Friday, Aug. 14, routed No. 4 Davis 51-14 on the road in Kaysville and placed Sutera among just 13 of 27 first-year Utah high school football coaches to win their opening-night debut.

The lopsided final belied a tight first half. Corner Canyon led just 7-6 at the break before senior quarterback Jaxon Pehrson and the offense found another gear.

Pehrson, making his first significant varsity start, finished 10 of 13 passing for 206 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 103 yards, including an 82-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Utah commit Diesel Dart hauled in two of those touchdown passes, one a 63-yard strike that helped blow the game open.

Running back Jackson Carruth ignited the second-half surge with a 30-yard touchdown run. A safety and a kickoff return for a touchdown followed in quick succession, burying the Darts. Carter Kjar, son of former Corner Canyon coach Eric Kjar, caught a short scoring pass from Pehrson during the barrage.

The Chargers piled up 460 yards of total offense and held Davis to 268.

"Any time you get a score on defense and one on special teams, you're tough to beat," Sutera told the Deseret News after the game. "We did it all tonight."

The elder Kjar, who compiled a 112-10 record and six state championships in nine seasons before leaving for Weber State in December 2025, watched from the east-side bleachers at Davis, tucked among Corner Canyon fans.

Sutera spent eight years as Kjar's defensive coordinator, helping the Chargers win three 6A titles, before building a 35-14 record as Brighton's head coach over four seasons. He was named 2024 5A Coach of the Year before returning to Corner Canyon in February.

The Deseret News reported that of 29 first-year head coaches statewide, 27 debuted Friday night. Sutera's rout of a top-five opponent stood out among the 13 winners.

Corner Canyon entered the season ranked No. 1 in Class 6A and is chasing a fourth consecutive state championship. "We know we have a high expectation because of the standard coach Kjar has created at Corner Canyon," Sutera said in July when the preseason coaches poll was released. "We expect to keep the same tradition and we know that starts with the process."

One game in, the process looks intact. The Chargers host Fremont (1-0) on Friday, Aug. 21.