By Steve Pimper
MaxPreps.com
Friday was a great day for bird watchers in Utah.
The top-ranked Alta Hawks (5A), Timpview Thunderbirds (4A) and Juan Diego Soaring Eagles (3A) all posted home field quarterfinal victories in their respective football state playoff games.
With the wins, the trio of No. 1-seeded squads received invites to next week’s semifinal round at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of Utah University. Here’s a look at all the action in these three classifications after Friday’s action.
Class 5A
The defending champion Alta Hawks were pushed to the brink of elimination by the third seed from Region I as the Davis Darts parlayed four first half turnovers into a 20-7 halftime bulge.
With things looking bleak for the 2007 champs, quarterback Ammon Olsen took things into his own hands like he has so many times this season by directing the Hawk offense on two second-half scoring drives. The Alta defense shut down the Darts and the Hawks rallied to pull out a 21-20 win.
Olsen ended the game with a total of 228 passing yards and two scores and ran in the third Hawk touchdown on a 4-yard scamper. Chase Herbert was Olsen’s favorite target for the game as he totaled 99 yards on six catches with one touchdown to help Alta grab the come-from-behind win. Alta (11-1) will be making its fourth consecutive trip to the semifinal round.
The Hawks’ next opponent will be another Region I foe, the Syracuse Titans. Syracuse, in only its second year of varsity action, punched a ticket into the final four with a last-play victory over Pleasant Grove in one of the day’s paramedic specials.
The cardiac kids from Syracuse blew an 18-point, first-half lead to the determined Vikings.
It all came down to one play. Trailing 25-21 with 1.2 seconds remaining and the ball on the Pleasant Grove 8-yard line, Titan quarterback Braden Hamblin hit Rick Reardon on a perfect slant pattern to give Syracuse a 27-25 win.
The winning score was the third time in the game that Hamblin and Reardon connected on short scoring routes and sends the Cinderella Titans into next Thursday’s afternoon semi against No. 1 Alta.
The other paramedic quarterfinal was also a last-second thriller as the Skyline Eagles and Layton Lancers locked up in a scoreless defensive dual. That quarterfinal beauty went 47:55 before Skyline quarterback Kevin Wagstaff punched in a one-yard keeper with only five seconds left to give the Eagles a 7-0 victory.
Of special note is the extension of three all-time state records for Skyline head coach Roger DuPaix. Dupaix, who has led his teams to the state playoffs 30 times, was coaching his 87th postseason game and with this victory notched his 65th playoff win. All are Beehive State records.
The final 5A contest was the complete opposite of the other three quarterfinal matchups as Bingham notched a convincing 48-20 thumping of Jordan.
On the first play from scrimmage, Miner sophomore running back Harvey Langi broke through the Beetdigger defense for a 71-yard gallop to the end zone. Bingham was on top 7-0.
Things only got worse for the Jordan faithful as Miner defensive back Vince Giron picked off a Beetdigger pass attempt on their first possession and returned it to the Jordan 10-yard line. Bingham quarterback Jake Soffe ran it in from there to put the Miners up 14-0 less than two minutes into the contest.
Following a Jordan punt the Miners again took only one play to score, this time from 73 yards out as Soffe hit wide receiver Michael Edmunds. Less than five minutes into the first period Bingham already had all the points it would need at 21-0.
Class 4A
The No.1-ranked, undefeated and two-time defending state champion Timpview Thunderbirds made it a state record 34- straight victories by disposing of the visiting Sky View Bobcats 42-13.
This game, too, was over before the first quarter ended. Timpview turned two Bobcat interceptions (one a 102-yard return by defensive back Craig Bills) into points and added two more scores to forge a 28-0 first period advantage and coasted into the semifinals with the easy win.
Cottonwood, the only other unbeaten team in 4A, also rolled to a lopsided win over the visiting Bonneville Lakers, 44-7. Colt quarterback, Steve Romero completed 21 of 39 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns while teammate Isi Sofele carried the rock for 138 yards on 26 tries with one score.
The other two quarterfinal matchups in 4A were both competitive and played at opposite ends of the state.
First, the Dixie Flyers of St. George made the 400-mile trip from southern Utah to knock helmets with Region V’s top seed, Mountain Crest. The Mustangs never trailed in the game but had to survive five turnovers, a last quarter surge and finally recover an onside kick attempt in the final minutes to post a narrow 28-26 over the visiting Dixie team.
The other participant from St. George, Pine View, hosted the Highland Rams of Salt Lake City and in another defensive battle. The final outcome was determined in the last two minutes as Panther placekicker Michael Stephenson converted a 35-yard field goal to give the hometown Pine View squad a victory and the final berth in next Friday’s Rice-Eccles Stadium semifinal triple header.
Class 3A
In the premier match-up in the 3A classification, the No. 1-ranked Juan Diego Soaring Eagles – featuring the state’s best defense – hosted No. 2 Logan and the top 3A scoring offense.
The Soaring Eagles had allowed only four points per game through their first 11 games while the Grizzlies’ spread offense and the state’s most prolific passing quarterback Jeff Manning had posted 41 points per outing.
Despite managing 21 points against the vaunted Juan Diego defense, the defending champion Grizzlies were eliminated, 28-21.
Juan Diego’s Tyler Morales had a spectacular day, shredding the Logan defense for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries to keep the perfect season intact and advance to next week’s semifinal round.
The Eagles opponent will be the Miners of Park City. The Miners scored 11 unanswered points in the second half to edge by Cedar City, 11-8.
The other two quarterfinal games went to the host teams as Hurricane outlasted Judge Memorial 28-17 and Morgan smacked the visiting Jackrabbits of Delta with a 26-7 loss.
Next week’s semifinal schedule at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah;
Thursday, Nov. 13
Skyline (8-4) vs. Bingham (10-2) at 10:30 a.m. (5A)
Syracuse (10-2) vs. Alta (11-1) at 2:30 p.m. (5A)
Morgan (10-2) vs. Hurricane (11-1) at 6:30 p.m. (3A)
Friday, Nov. 14
Pine View (10-1) vs. Cottonwood (12-0) at 10:30 a.m. (4A)
Mountain Crest (10-1) vs. Timpview (11-0) at 2:30 p.m. (4A)
Park City (7-4) vs. Juan Diego (12-0) at 6:30 p.m. (3A)