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SALT LAKE CITY — With an overtime kick from the leg of Noah Anderson, American Fork completed an improbable rally to upset defending state champions Lone Peak in a 17-14 victory Friday night.
"They're fighters," American Fork head coach Aaron Behm said of his Cavemen. "We still haven't played our best football, but to battle back against such a well-coached team as Lone Peak is a big win."
With the Cavemen trailing 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Caleb Peterson intercepted an errant Kaden Hodson pass for a 55-yard touchdown to tie the game and swing momentum back in favor of American Fork.
"It took everybody; the defense put us in a position to win," Behm said.
American Fork marched downfield in the waning minutes of regulation to set up a potential game-winning field goal, which Anderson appeared to nail. But it was controversially ruled no good by the officials, inciting an angry Cavemen mob on the sideline and in the stands.
"We talk a lot about controlling the things we can control, and I had to remind myself of that after that (missed field goal) call," Behm said.
The game went to overtime, where the Knights whiffed on a field goal attempt of their own before Anderson drilled his redemption shot to seal the victory for American Fork, with the Caveman faithful pouring onto the field in celebration.
"We regrouped, and I'm proud that we pulled it off," Behm said. "It's homecoming, these guys are excited and it's a big deal."
The Knights posted 14 points in the second quarter — on a 55-yard Cole Christensen punt return touchdown and another 61-yard rushing score from Brooks Wilde — but couldn't muster much on offense otherwise, with Hodson throwing a pair of interceptions on the evening.
Aside from Peterson's pick six, the Cavemen scored on a Jace Hull 20-yard touchdown grab just before halftime for American Fork's lone offensive touchdown.
American Fork (5-2) heads to Pleasant Grove next Friday, with Lone Peak (4-2) facing its biggest test of the year in hosting top-ranked Skyridge Friday as well.
