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SMITHFIELD — The margin for error is slim when facing a region champion on the road in the state playoffs. On a sun-drenched Cache Valley Friday afternoon against Sky View, Hurricane found that out the hard way.
The No. 10 seed in the 4A state tournament marched down the field on its opening drive and looked ready to compete, but its own mistakes made them pay.
A Tigers receiver dropped an open touchdown pass, and the next play Bobcats junior Taylor Lindley intercepted Hurricane quarterback Gerritt Grondel and returned it 75 yards. Sky View was in the end zone two plays later to complete a 12-point swing.
Things unraveled from there.
The No. 7-seeded Bobcats scored on its first six possessions, flexing their muscles towards a 41-6 win in the first round of the playoffs. Sky View (6-4) advances to face No. 2-seeded Desert Hills in the quarterfinals next week, while Hurricane finishes the season 2-9 on the year.
Without starting running back Carson Thatcher, who was out with a shoulder injury, Sky View used a steady dose of the wildcat, which was run by senior Micheal Furgeson, who complemented the passing attack from first-time starting quarterback junior Jace Favero. It all led to Sky View's offensive success.
Furgeson rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, and Favero added 202 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-20 passing. The team totaled 355 yards of offense in the rout over Hurricane.
"It was my first career and my first time playing in a playoff game," Favero said. "Just a big win for the team — felt awesome."
"I felt like we played really good complimentary football today," Sky View coach Chris Howell said. "I thought Jace came in and did a great job."
The wildcat, which Sky View was forced to run almost exclusively in a game against Mountain Crest earlier in the season when Thatcher and Favero were both unavailable, is something the Bobcats have gone back to periodically.
It was effective against the Tigers as Furgeson averaged over 5 yards per carry and kept the sticks moving to ease the burden on Favero. It also opened up the run game for junior Brevin Egbert, who had 72 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
"It's something we've been working on all year, and so it was easy to just continue to utilize," Howell said.
After leading 12-0, thanks in part to two field goals from 41- and 42-yards out from junior Calebe de Quadros, the offensive attack got rolling at the end of the first half.
A 37-yard run from Egbert helped set up a 1-yard Egbert touchdown run to lead 20-6. Following a second Grondel interception, Furgeson scored on a 7-yard wildcat run with 2:28 left in the half. After a quick Hurricane three-and-out series, Favero connected with Egbert for a 44-yard gain, and Furgeson capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown to lead 34-6 at halftime.
For the most part, the Bobcats defense had its way and bottled up the screen pass the Tigers found success in this season and limited Ethan Staples. Hurricane finished with 233 yards of offense for the game.
"We put ourselves in a hole early," Hurricane coach Cory Ashby said. "We go down and we missed a couple of balls in the end zone where we could have scored, turn the ball over. … It just didn't seem to go right for us."
For Hurricane, it was an emotional end to the season. Ashby, whose son Carter Ashby is a senior on the team, has coached many of the players since they played youth football.
"I've coached these guys since about third grade, which is kind of weird. I don't think high school coaches get to do this very often," Ashby said. "So I grew up with them. I grew up as a coach through them, and so I think it's tough. But they've given me a lot and I couldn't ask for anything more. They've worked their tail off. And, unfortunately, sometimes when you work hard, it doesn't always work out."
For Sky View, the season continues next week in St. George. The Bobcats, who won Region 11 but are the third-ranked team from the region based on RPI, won't admit they were slighted by the algorithm going into next week's matchup with the Thunder.
"We're gonna play who's ever next on the schedule," Howell said. "We've got to play the best teams anyway to get to where we want to get, so other than going on a road, I don't care. We'll play whoever, whenever."
