Copper Hills football: Zach Smith feature

Earlier this year, I interviewed Copper Hills senior wide receiver Zach Smith. While he didn't have the statistics he had hoped for, it was still a great year for him that he will always remember. Zach also a teammate, Henry Kemp, who moved in with him and his mother and the two players became like brothers. Zach had a good story to tell. This article will appear in the CHHS 2011 footbal yearbook.

Zach
Smith:

It was more than just a great football season,
but an opportunity to play with his “brother”

By Bruce Smith
Matchup

Zach Smith was a good high-school athlete. More than that, he was a sports fan.

In Smith’s mind, the 2011 Copper Hills football season was a big success. But the year also offered much more.

Smith played wide receiver for the Grizzlies. He was only 5-foot-8, but led the team with 19 catches for 403 yards – over 21 yards per reception. He ended the season on a high note with six catches for 121 yards, including a touchdown, in Copper Hills’ game against Brighton. His lone score was also the team’s final touchdown.

“I knew we had the weaponry to score,” Smith said. “Of course, I wanted the ball but changing the offense did help us win.”

Copper Hills’ new offense, which changed from the spread to more of a rushing attack, was the smaller of the changes to affect Smith.

Smith was an only child until his senior year, when he and his mother invited teammate Henry Kemp to live with them. Kemp had been staying with his grandmother, but things weren’t working there and the Smiths lived closer to the school.

“It worked out well for all of us,” Smith said. “It was nice to have someone (my age) to talk to.”

Kemp was also an athlete. He was Copper Hills’ second-leading rusher and caught eight passes for 82 yards. Kemp was one of the team’s fastest players. He had a pair of touchdowns, including an electrifying 74-yarder against Hillcrest that was one of the most memorable plays of the season.

Thus, two of the Grizzlies’ best offensive players lived in the same household. Smith said he enjoyed it, and having Kemp around made it feel like he had a brother.

Though genetics had nothing to do with it, the duo combined to give Copper Hills a quick-strike ability. Coach Kai Kapele admitted prior to the start of the season that one of his goals was to make the Grizzlies a threat from anywhere on the field. He said Smith and Kemp quietly provided that.

“(Zach) didn’t say much,” Kapele said. “But those guys were among the first (to come to the weight room) and work out every morning. They were motivated.”

Smith said he, of course, relished every big play he made and also cheered loudly for Kemp. He said the game he will remember most was homecoming night against American Fork, when Copper Hills rallied from a first-half deficit to post a 21-14 win.

“That was the best feeling ever,” he said. “When Tommy (Ligman) made that fumble return, I caught the two-point conversion to tie the game.

“I was wide open,” he added. “I guess they were expecting a run because we were running on them the whole game.”

The Brighton game also provided a big thrill. Smith hadn’t scored all year until the fourth quarter, when he hauled in a 40-yard scoring pass. He said he didn’t expect the year to end that way.

“I was supposed to run an ‘out’ route, but coach changed the play,” he recalled. “(QB Christian) Reese put it right on the money. It was weird. When I reached the end zone, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t walk to the sideline because everybody was congratulating me. They all wanted me to score.”

After the season, Smith was selected to Region 3’s second team, which he appreciated. He said it was great to see the team develop a great attitude, which was fueled by hard work in the offseason and it’s early success.

Smith called Kemp the team’s most improved player, but admitted he might not be impartial. Together, the duo combined for more great plays and they remembered all of them.