Dixie Dismantles Dons in 4th to Take Title

Spanish Fork faced-off with its third team from St. George in a four week span; Pine View and Desert Hills had been defeated by the Dons, but now they met the Dixie Flyers for all the marbles at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The third time proved to be the charm for the city of St. George against Spanish Fork as Dixie dominated the 4th quarter to bring the 3A title down south.

The game was actually very close most of the time. The teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter and looked to be doing the same in the second after Dixie scored a second time Spanish Fork drove down to the Flyer 8-yard line looking to tie the game up.

Two plays later the Flyers hit pay dirt on a 36-yard bomb to take a 21-7 lead which held for the rest of the half.

Spanish Fork had found themselves 21-7 for the second week in a row and knew what it needed to accomplish. The defense held up its end of the bargin as the Don offense struggled to get back on track. Finally part way through the 3rd they broke the drought and scored on a 32-yard touchdown run to cut the game to 21-14.

Dixie and Spanish Fork exchanged two drives each with the defenses keeping things in check. When the Flyers scored on another big play; a 78-yard pass to once again take a 14-point lead.


Spanish Fork responded quickly with a 60 plus yard touchdown pass of their own to close out the 3rd quarter 28-21.

The comeback was not to be however as the Flyers scored on two more big plays on their next two drives; running plays of 63 and 36 yards to go up by 21. A Spanish Fork interception returned for a score by Dixie with just over 4 minutes left in the game sealed the championship for the Dixie High School Flyers with a final score of 49-21.

Congratulations Dixie High School!

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Highlights from this game and others are available on our YouTube page.

Dons Hold Off Thunder To Reach First Championship Game

Rice-Eccles Stadium was the venue for the Utah High School Semi-Final game between Spanish Fork and Desert Hills. Both teams had reached this point a year ago but fell short of their championship aspirations. Looking to reach new heights both teams put out an excellent effort and what turned into a great football game.

 

After being stalemated on their first drive the Thunder went 98-yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. The catalyst of the drive was this 47-yard run and was capped off on a 38-yard scoring pass.

                                    

Spanish Fork responded with a scoring drive of their. Aided by a personal foul on the Thunder defense the Dons drove 80-yards and scored on a 20-yard pass to tie the game at 7 on the first play of the second quarter.

Midway through the second quarter Desert Hills scored on a 10-yard touchdown scramble to break the tie.

The Thunder struck (sorry couldn't help it) again on their next series, a 42-yard bomb to go up 21-7.

Trailing by fourteen late in the second quarter Spanish Fork looked to be in dire straights. Spanish Fork's sophomore QB Jason Money played beyond his age orchestrating a perfect 2-minute drill with four completions on four attempts totaling 63-yards. His play set up 16-yard draw play to bring the game to 21-14 score.

 

Spanish Fork kicked off to start the second half. The kicked was short and high and landed amidst several players. I think what happened was the Thunder blockers treated it like a punt and stayed away from the ball until they realized a hair too late that the ball is live on a kickoff. Spanish Fork got to the ball first. The Dons scored on the first play from scrimmage in the second half tying the game at 21. In less the two minutes of play Desert Hills went from leading by 14 to being tied up.

The Thunder offense stalled out on its first possession of the second half. The Don offense was red hot and looking to gain its first lead of the game. The Desert Hills defense needed a big play and made it happen with this interception.

A short field couldn't fix the Thunder's offensive problems. They tried a field goal which was blocked but given another shot when the refs ruled a time-out had been taken. The second attempt sailed wide left leaving the Thunder empty handed once again.

Spanish Fork took advantage of the Thunder miscue driving down the field for another touchdown to take a 28-21 lead on the last play of the 3rd quarter.

It was do or die time for the Thunder. They needed to stem tide after giving up 21 unanswered points. They proved they didn't make the long drive from St. George to roll over when faced with adversity. They responded in a big way driving 67-yards and scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge to tie the ball game.

The Thunder defense came up with another huge stop. Giving the offense the ball with just over 5-minutes left in the game and a chance to take back the lead. Disaster struck the Thunder (sorry again) on their first play of the drive the Dons picked off the Desert Hills pass.

The Dons started with great field position and capitalized on the opportunity punching the ball in from 2-yards out.

The Thunder ended up turning the ball over on downs allowing Spanish Fork to advance to the State Championship Game for the first time in school history.

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A highlight video can be found on YouTube.

Dons Overcome Slow Start to Advance

This game started with traded interceptions. Morgan tossed one on their opening series in their own territory, but escaped unscathed when Spanish Fork threw it right back on the next play. The Dons however gave up a field goal to fall behind 3-0
        

 On Spanish Fork's following drive a bad snap was recovered by Morgan. The Trojan offense was able to move the ball methodically down the field with a power running game, but sealed the drive with a touchdown pass to take 10-0.

At the end of the 1st quarter it looked as though the Dons were in trouble. Morgans power run game was ugly but affective keep the high powered Don offense off of the field. Mean while Spanish Fork's offense was suffering from a turnover bug. SF needed to get their act together in a hurry or they would be looking elimination in the face.

 

The 2nd quarter was a totally different story. Braxton Argyle finally cracked Morgans defense to make the game 10-7 affair.

                                  

This was the start of an onslaught. Spanish Fork went on to score 33 unanswered points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Including these scores. 

 Morgan did show life in the 4th quarter scoring twice to bring the final score to 33-23.

Random Thoughts: No player or play of the game this week due to the lateness of the post sorry... Spanish Fork needs to make their extra-points. The last two game have been within reach of their opposition because of missing multiple PATs... I am going to the semi-final game up at Rice-Eccles tomorrow night. I think its a pretty nice venue, but I think playing in an NFL stadium would be cooler. I got to play in the Metrodome my senior year and it is an experience I will never forget. Only if Utah had an NFL team... I will hopefully get a post up Friday from my game in the UTFL this past weekend.

Dons Hold Off Panthers To Advance

Spanish Fork hosted Pine View to start the playoffs and were given all they could handle as they had to stave off a comeback to advance to the second round.

Colton Olsen started the scoring off with a pick six, his second consecutive game with one, to give Spanish Fork an early lead.

At this point Pine View used their size advantage in the trenches to turn the tide. They pounded away at the Don defense and tied the game on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

They would go up 14-7 in the second quarter following another punishing drive down the field capped by a 4-yard Prentiss Miller run.

Both defense tightened down in the second quarter. Spanish Fork pinned Pine View deep in their own territory forcing them to punt out of their own end zone twice. The Panthers did not shrink from the challenge coming up with two interceptions to keep the Dons off the board.

Spanish Forks defense gave its offense a short field for a third time to close out the second quarter. Proving the third time is the charm the Dons completed a 34-yard touchdown play to tie the game up going into the half.

The Don offense woke up in the 3rd quarter scoring on two Braxton Argyle touchdown runs, giving Pine View a taste of its own ground and pound attack.

Colton Olsen came up with another big interception with Pine View Driving to help maintain the 26-14 lead.

Pine View managed to find pay dirt with 5 minutes to play in the 4th quarter and the missed PAT's by the Dons loomed large as the game was 25-21.

I promise this play was eventually ruled a touchdown.

Pine View decided to kick it deep with their defense playing so well in the final period. In hindsight this may have been a mistake as the Dons were able to pick up first downs when they needed to and killed the clock to advance to the second round.

Honorable Mention for Player of the Game: Braxton Argyle, RB, Spanish Fork 

Braxton had a slow start but his performance in the second half, the 3rd quarter in particular, proved to be the difference in the game. He scored two touchdowns and rushed for 98-yards on 20 carries.

Play of the Game: On a 4th down with about 7-yards to go and around a minute left Spanish Fork had three options; one punt the ball and hope to pin Pine View deep or at least get a touchback. This could lead to a bad snap or a big return costing them the game. Option two, run the ball. This would kill a little bit of time unless you manage to break a big play, highly unlikely, but risk a fumble. Option three, throw the ball for the first down yardage. Which could lead to a game ending first down or a lot of negative options. Giving the circumstances a sack or incomplete pass were not that big of a deal; even a pick, if tackled quickly is no different then a punt. Spanish rolled the dice a heaved the ball up. Jason Money had a good game heading up to this point. But he didn't go to his ever reliable cousin Cameron Money; who had over a hundred yards on the day, or even the hot hand Colten Olsen. He went to Cooper Beck who caught the 29-yard pass to seal the win. His only catch of the game came over the top of the defender at a crucial moment. That is what is to referred to as clutch. I really wish I had video or pictures of it to give Cooper some credit, I hope the win is enough for him.

Player of the Game: Colton Olsen, DB, Spanish Fork. 

 

He had a pick-six to start the scoring and a huge pick in the third to kill a Pine View drive. If he doesn't make one of these plays the panthers probably pull off the upset. He also added 40-yards on 4 catches. Great game Mr. Olsen. (Sorry I used the same pic twice but it's the best one of him in the game.)

Random Thoughts: Pine View has a sweet helmet logo.

 They also have two of the coolest names I have heard on a team all year; this team features a Thor and a Shaq. Simply awesome.... As close as this game was Spanish Fork should have won by a lot more. Kudos to the Panther defense coming up with turnovers to keep the Dons from scoring with short field position.... Pine View's black and white unis looked great with the Breast Cancer Awareness pink that doesn't work with most uniforms... Pine View's long snapper Justice Herschey (another really cool name) was impressive on all of his snaps. Especially the two shortened ones out of the end zone. I know this is a weird thing to notice but having been a long snapper, I backed up in high school, it isn't easy to adjust the length when you get into a rhythm at a particular distance. Justice if you read this I strongly recommend you send a compilation of your snaps to colleges. You have a particular skill set that could pay for your college... Sorry about the lateness of this post. I will be at the Spanish Fork game against Morgan this evening.


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Spanish Fork Takes Care of Business in Payson

The Payson Lions played host to the Spanish Fork Dons this past Thursday night. The Lions looked to keep it close and pull off an upset, but the Dons proved to much for Payson.

Spanish Fork Started the scoring in the first quarter with a Braxton Argyle run to take a 7-0 lead. Payson responded on the following drive with a Devon Judd touchdown pass that knotted the game at 7.

Spanish Fork's offense went on a 19-point scoring binge in the second quarter. Argyle added another score while the Dons quarterback, Jason Money, tossed in the other two touchdowns.

Trailing 26-7 at the half the Lions were kicking off to the red hot Dons and needed a break to keep things close. They got the break when the Spanish Fork return man bobbled and fumbled the kick and gave the ball deep in Don territory. Payson was able to capitalize on the short field and punched the ball in and made it a ball game at 26-14.

In the end though the Dons proved to be too much for the Lions as Money completed two more touchdown passes and Colton Olsen returned an interception for another score making the final score 45-14.

Honorable Mention for player(s) of the game: Braxton Argyle, RB, Spanish Fork

Argyle had a great game. He ran 24 times for 118 yards according to The Deseret News and ran for two scores. He kept the Lions off the field and his defense well rested. He made a strong case for player of the game, but that honor goes to another Don.

Spanish Fork's Defense

The Don defense was simply dominating. They stuffed the run all night and were in the quarterbacks face nearly every drop back. If it weren't for a fumble deep on their side on a kickoff this game would have been 45-7. They only gave up one big touchdown pass and just had their way in general.

Play of the Game: I have a hard time picking one play that had the greatest influence on the game in such a one sided affair. If I had to pick the most exciting play I would go with Olsen's pick six but the game was all but decided by that point. I will have to say the drive after Payson made the game 26-14. Spanish Fork showed it would not fall asleep and let the game go when they responded with a score of their own.

Player of the Game: Jason Money, QB, Spanish Fork

Money's passing was the Ying to Argyles running Yang. He was 11/22 for over 200 yards and 4 touchdowns. If BYU could get that kind of production out of its quarterbacks they would be unbeaten. He also had a long run for a score that was called back on a holding penalty. Really player of the game honors could have gone to any of the mentioned individuals but I will give it to the designated team leader in the QB. He played big in a big game that gets them two home games in the playoffs if they win the first game.


Highlights: So I can't get the video to load here but if you click the link you will see the video compilation I made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giZ-wY6vBx8&feature=g-all-u

Random Thoughts: I learned how to make a highlight video hopefully that makes it easier then watching a bunch of individual clips.... Payson has a fantastic special teams coach. They had two returns for touchdowns against JUAB a few weeks ago and they had a couple of long returns against the Dons as well showing me that it just wasn't bad play by JUAB.... It was interesting to watch Spanish Fork do with ease what Payson had a hard time doing a few weeks ago. Spanish Fork closed the game out and didn't let the Lions climb out of holes. Payson let JUAB back into the game three different times after being up 20 or more points a few weeks ago and barely survived the comeback attempt. That is one of the reasons Spanish Fork is a number one seed in the playoffs and Payson is not.... So I am going to follow Spanish Fork through the playoffs instead of bouncing around from week to week. This week they host the Pine View Panthers out of St. George.... Thanks for reading and please subscribe.

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Spanish Fork Dominates

The lights shined bright this past Friday night as Spanish Fork hosted Carbon for their homecoming contest. I use the term contest loosely because the game did not stay competitive for very long. Spanish Fork jumped out to quick 12-0 lead and never looked back.

I don't know how Utah decides what schools are what class but it was very clear to me that Carbon was in over there head. They have a couple of solid athletes, number 13 and 7 had some solid plays, but those two were running for the life all night long.

The game was out of hand by half time with the score 33-0.

 Shortly into the second half the back-ups entered the game for the duration but they were still able to run all over the field and dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

 

This dominance was displayed throughout the second half concluding the game with this scoring drive and a 56-0 victory.

 

 

Player of the game: In games like this there isn't really a play that swings the momentum and no one players contribution is irreplaceable. That being said I give the player of the game award to Spanish Fork's athletic director for scheduling Carbon for homecoming.

Random Thoughts: The common practice of scheduling "cupcakes" for homecoming is interesting to me. I get that you want to have a win before the big dance and making sure returning alumni go home happy, but 56-0 game is boring. I am not saying to schedule the state powerhouse and hope for a huge upset or even your schools arch rival, losing to them would be a huge downer for all of the home crowd, but why not schedule somebody who will at least make you keep your starters in the game. Coaches know the games on there schedule that are games they "should" win pick one of those and have a way more interesting game.... Speaking of blow out wins. I feel for Carbon. 56-0 is disheartening and the players are kids for crying out loud. On the other hand I don't know what else Spanish Fork could have done. They put in the back ups and they still scored.... I really hope the game I go to this week is more competitive. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks for reading.

The Battle of the Forks

This game was one heck of a ride to watch. As Spanish Fork outlasted American Fork 19-13. Big plays and penalties were the theme of the evening and this was clear from the opening kick as AF returned it for a touchdown that could have set the tone for the entire game. This was not to be as it was called back on the first of many penalties on the night.

The Dons of SF drew first blood going up 6-0 in the first quarter but turnovers and penalties saw them squander the lead and allow 13 unanswered points. The Cavemen seemed to be in control of the game using there superior size to control the line of scrimmage and the clock.

Midway through the third quarter Cooper Beck intercepted an attempted bubble screen and ran it back for a pick six. The momentum swung on this play and reguvinated the Spanish Fork crowd.

This led me to wonder how AF would respond, there ground and pound approach had clearly started to wear down the Don's defense and time was still on there side in a tie ball game. So AF stuck with there strengths and pounded away. But then something happened, the Caveman D gave up the big play. The first SF offensive score came with great field position after a terrible punt back the first quarter. All of that staunch play went for not when they let Braxton Argyle break off a 53 yard scamper for a score with only a little over six minutes left.

Much to American Fork's credit they battle hard and embarked on last stitch effort when they got the ball with 1:28 left in the game and 60 yards of field in front of them. Jeremiah Evans orchestrated what appeared to be at least a game tieing touchdown drive only to have the pass and catch called back on a holding penalty. Evans kept his team composed in the final seconds as he managed to spike the ball with .9 seconds left on the clock. Making the last play all or nothing for the Cavemen. A delay of game penalty pushed them back five yards and an incomplete pass in the end zone capped off one of the most exciting high school games I have ever been at.

Honorable Mentions for Player of the Game:
Jeremiah Evans, QB, AF: He led two touchdown drives, capping one off himself. He would have been the player of the game if that last pass was caught to win the tie the game. His pick six pass didn't help either.

American Fork Cavemen defensive and offensive lines: They controlled most of this game. The defensive line gave up the one big play and the offensive line let the Cavemen control the clock. They would have won player of the game honors if this game had ended 13-6 or 20-6 like it looked like it was going to until Beck's took it back to the house.

Colton Olson, WR, SF: This young man had a whale of a game for a high school receiver catching 10 balls by my count. Having seen SF's first two games I'm sure AF was keyed on fellow wide out Cam Money who had dominated Park City and Springville the previous two weeks. He would have won player of the week if he hadn't fumbled the ball away twice.

Player of the Game/ Play of the game:
Cooper Beck, WR/DB, SF: His pick six changed the game and swung the momentum just enough to hold of AF. My hat is off to this young man on the play he made. From my perspective as football enthusiast he had studied film and new the WR screen was coming. He knew where to be and when to be there and he took advantage.

Random Thoughts of the Week:
My heart goes out to the young man who was called for holding on the called back touchdown pass. I'm sorry I don't recall his number. He had to have the biggest pit in his stomach when the ref made that call, which was a good one.... Why the heck does SF not have play-clocks at their field? I can think of three delay of game penalties. I could forgive only having one on the scoreboard itself and none on the other side but they don't even have one on the board! What is up with that? Oh and no timeout remaining indicators. I know coaches and refs can keep track of that in the head or piece of paper but it would be nice from a fan perspective.

Till next week.