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SALEM — Salem Hills outlasted Spanish Fork just enough to take a nail-biting 16-13 win over the Dons Friday night in Salem.
What seemed to be a game won in the first half with the Skyhawks up 9-0 on the Dons, Spanish Fork's offense bounced back in the second half with two touchdowns to make it a 3-point game. But the clock quickly became an issue.
After Spanish Fork's final touchdown, Salem Hills got the ball back with 2:47 left in the game. The Skyhawks failed to get anything positive on the drive, though, and were forced to punt the ball back to the Dons, which gave the visiting team a chance to win the game.
The Dons' offense struggled in its final drive of the night and found itself in a fourth-and-9 situation on their own 32-yard line. After two successful fourth-down attempts on previous drives, Spanish Fork gambled with its luck again in a last ditch effort.
Their efforts this time fell short, and Salem Hills came away with the narrow win.
The Skyhawks started the evening out strong with a fumble recovery within the first few minutes of the game. And then quarterback Ledger Holmes threw a 55-yard pass to wide receiver Kort Stewart to get into Spanish Fork territory. The home team capped off the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by running back Roper Kay.
Place-kicker Christian Millar missed the point-after attempt but later made up for it with a made 36-yard field goal to give Salem Hills a 9-0 lead.
Spanish Fork ended its scoring drought late in the third quarter when Kaden Vest found the end zone on a 5-yard run to make it 3-point game after a missed PAT. Late in the fourth quarter, quarterback McKay Smith connected with Brock Jacobson on a 20-yard touchdown pass.
The final score of the night for Salem Hills relied heavily on Holmes' run game. He broke free for 31-yard gain, and followed it up with a 12-yard run before Kay finished off the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Salem Hills will travel to Vernal next week to take on Uintah, and Spanish Fork will welcome Provo.
