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HERRIMAN — Mountain Ridge successfully held off a potential comeback from Copper Hills as the Sentinels secured a 27-22 win.
All hopes had seemed lost for the Grizzlies going into the second half with Mountain Ridge up 24-7; however, the Sentinels' defense made some vital errors that allowed the comeback opportunity Copper Hills was looking for Friday night.
After an unsuccessful fourth down conversion by Mountain Ridge on Copper Hills' 48-yard line, the Grizzlies capitalized on the chance and scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ty Easton Cogswell.
To keep the momentum going, Copper Hills recovered a fumble on their own 38-yard line. Once again, the Grizzlies found themselves in the end zone after a 47-yard pass to Cogswell. The Grizzlies tried their luck at a 2-point conversion and successfully narrowed the gap to 24-22.
Despite the strong effort, Mountain Ridge remained on top and finished out the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal made by Brody Laga. But all hopes for Copper Hills were crushed after Mountain Ridge recovered a fumble with only a minute left on the clock.
"The guys executed the end of the game very well," Mountain Ridge head coach Mike Meifu said.
The first half demonstrated Mountain Ridge's strong offensive game with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by running back Semisi Kinikini in the first quarter, followed by a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Kinikini to open up the start of the second quarter.
Copper Hills finally put points on the board in the second quarter off a 12-yard pass to Kenneth Banza to set up a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Nate Kitchen.
But the Sentinels quickly turned the game back into a two possession lead as quarterback Wyatt Bingham threw a 35-yard pass to Kai Meza, and then a 14-yard rushing touchdown by Kinikini pushed the score to 21-7. Laga finished the first half with a made 51-yard field goal to control a 24-7 lead at halftime.
"The guys battled and made plays when they needed to to pull off the win," Meifu said.
Mountain Ridge will play rival Herriman next week, and Copper Hills will face Corner Canyon at home.
