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After time finally ran out, Jordan High School had escaped from Pleasant Grove with a narrow three-point advantage, 55-52. But no one was jumping and celebrating. It was a long, tough game.
"It is a win, but it was ugly," said Eric Kjar, Jordan's head coach. He had high praise for his team's leading rusher and passer, senior Austin Kafentzis, adding, "It is a great luxury to have him on the team. He is one of our three senior captains and we rely on him to get us through these situations."
Kafentzis was responsible for six of the Beetdiggers' touchdowns as he passed for two and ran for four more. He had 32 carries for 227 yards and completed 13 of 24 passes for another 185 yards. He was responsible for 412 yards of Jordan's 628 total offensive yards.
Pleasant Grove started quickly on its first possession, moving the ball downfield with junior running back Coleman Edwards crossing the goal line and with 10:30 remaining in the first quarter, putting the Vikings up 7-0. Jordan fumbled the ball on the first play following the kickoff and the Vikings recovered. On the Vikings' third play, senior QB Christian Miller handed the ball to Edwards again and he punched it in from 10 yards out. With 9:37 remaining in the first quarter, the Vikings were up 14-0 and looking to control the game.
From there it became a shootout. At the end of the first half, the Vikings were still in the lead, but Jordan had narrowed the margin to one point at 28-27.
The third quarter was wild as each team scored three times. The Beetdiggers scored 21 points on three touchdowns and the Vikings scored on one field goal and two touchdowns, with one failed PAT, which allowed Jordan to take a four point lead, 48-44, going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was more controlled as the Vikings scored one touchdown with a two point conversion and the Beetdiggers scored once for 7 points and a final three-point margin of 55-52. The teams combined for 107 points and 1,183 yards of offense, despite the teams being flagged for a combined 420 lost yards on penalties. Pleasant Grove was flagged 19 times for 231 yards while Jordan committed 20 infractions costing it 189 yards. Combined with the offensive output by both teams, the game ran almost three and a half hours.
"Yea, we're 3-0 right now, but it is an ugly 3-0," Kjar said after the game. "We are not starting out as fast as we should. I'm not sure why yet, we still have a lot of work to do."
Viking head coach Les Hamilton said, "We needed to get some stops and we didn't get it done."
Jordan will hit the road to play at Cherry Creek High School on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Pleasant Grove has a 2-1 record and will play Maple Mountain at home on Friday, Sept. 12. Kent Allen lives in Pleasant Grove and reports on Pleasant Grove High School Varsity sports for Deseret Connect.
