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PROVO — The Provo fans, who made for an enthusiastic and boisterous crowd at their Homecoming game, suddenly went silent for the first time Friday night as they held their collective breath.
All eyes were on the pigskin hurtling through the night sky, high above their heads. Launched on their own 10-yard line by Bulldog quarterback, Tevita Ika, the ball hung in the air for what seemed like several minutes until it finally came down into the outstretched arms of Chase Heiner 25 yards later, as he was streaking down the right sideline. Tucking the ball in tight, Heiner sprinted the final 65 yards to the end zone, untouched, as jubilant Provo crowd erupted into gleeful celebration.
Unfortunately for Provo, that spectacular play came too late in a game that they were too far behind in. By the time the Bulldogs scored their one and only touchdown, just five minutes remained in the fourth quarter, and the Skyhawks of Salem Hills had already put 42 unanswered points on the board. Though Heiner’s crowd pleasing catch robbed them of the shutout they were hoping for, Salem Hills came away with the lopsided win — upping the Skyhawks' record to 5-1 on the season.
Just as the Heiner-Ika hookup was the highlight of Provo’s night, Salem Hills had a razzle-dazzle play of their own that brought Skyhawks fans to their feet when halfway through the first quarter, Salem quarterback Porter Gustin took the snap and ran a sweep left, pitching it to Isaac Parrish who then ran a reverse and pitched it to Weston Bonny.
Bonny then tossed a lateral pass back to a waiting Gustin who took one step and let it fly, high and long to wide receiver, Jesse Rowley, who had sprinted 65 yards downfield and snagged the perfectly placed pass just before he ran out of real estate in the back of the end zone. The Skyhawk fans, awe-struck by this never before seen trickery, roared with approval.
That touchdown, the Skyhawk’s second, brought the score to 14-0 and came on the heels of a pick-six by Villi Wolfgramm who scooped up a misfired pass on Provo’s own 12 yard line and bolted into the end zone to put the Skyhawks on the board.
Minutes later, Gustin rifled a 15-yard pass to tight end, Lafe Frandsen who scrambled into the end zone for a third Skyhawk touch down making it 21-0. Salem had regained possession a minute earlier when Skyhawk defensive end, Tim Fleming, did what he does best and deflected a pass, his second of the night. Only this time he caught the ball that he batted down, making it Salem’s ball.
The second quarter brought more of the same surgical-like precision with which Gustin and the Skyhawk offense continued to pick apart the Provo defense. It added one more score before the half when Gustin rumbled 20 yards up the sideline and into the end zone, making it 28-0 at the break.
Rowley, made a little more magic for the Skyhawks at the start of the second half when on fourth-and-long he faked the punt and managed a 20-yard toss downfield to give the Skyhawks a first down. This set up a 20-yard strike from Gustin to Bonny who punched the ball over the goal line just before being brought down. The Skyhawks struck one final time, late in the fourth quarter, when Jaxon Bowden powered up the middle on a 15-yard carry that gave the Skyhawks a 42-0 lead.
Provo’s offense never got off the ground against the solid and steady Skyhawk defense who kept the Bulldogs on their heels most of the night. Anchored by the Skyhawks' “Fearsome Foursome” in Gustin, Bowden, Wolfgramm, and Albrecht, Salem’s defense came up big as they combined for a total of 32 tackles, nine of those for a loss, along with four sacks. Gustin led all with 12 tackles.
“I thought our defense played great tonight," Salem Hills coach Joel Higginson said. "They set the tone from the beginning of the game and came away with a great first stop and a pick six to really give us the momentum. And it was another great night of O-line production from Tyler Christensen and Connor Hunt, who both played great. I am proud of the way our guys compete. They really play with a lot of heart and have grown as a team.”
The Skyhawks face Orem next Thursday at Tiger Field.
