Zayas' field goal the difference as Bountiful survives Olympus' frantic comeback

BOUNTIFUL — Senior kicker Landon Zayas didn't panic when he missed a pivotal field goal midway through the fourth quarter.

His Bountiful Redhawks teammates didn't either when they saw a seemingly insurmountable 22-point lead evaporate in less than nine minutes. They simply got back to work, believing another shot to finally put away the Olympus Titans would come.

And when it did, they didn't miss.

Zayas' 26-yard boot cleanly split the uprights, his third of the game, and it was enough to send the Redhawks (3-0) to a 25-22 victory on a cool, crisp Thursday evening.

"We're built for these situations; that's what we told (the players)," Bountiful head coach Jason Freckleton said. "These are players we believe in; and we told them we needed to execute and play it one play at a time."

It didn't seem that way for 36 minutes after the Redhawks bolted to a 22-0 lead in what was a physical battle, until a quarterback switch by the Titans (1-2) from Luke Espersen to Max Rice turned the tide.

Rice, who doubles as Olympus' starting slot receiver, opened a barrage of three consecutive fourth-quarter scoring drives, including a 49-yard strike to Caden Lloyd to make it 22-7.

He then hit Tommy Nelson for touchdowns of 26 and 10 yards to bring the Titans to within two, 22-20. Fittingly, Nelson then caught the tying 2-point conversion at the back pylon with 3:07 left, sending the Olympus faithful into a frenzy.

In the middle of that mayhem, Zayas, after missing a 42-yard field goal when the Redhawks were up 22-7, got some encouragement from his kicking coach, which he called a "beautiful moment."

"We preach that you have to be ready for your next opportunity," Freckleton said. "You have to reset, reload, learn from it, and get better."

And the Redhawks certainly did take advantage of those opportunities on their final drive.

Quarterback Emerson Geilman threw a strike to convert a third-and-13 to Connor Clark, after the speedy receiver had dropped one earlier in the drive; and Zeke Murdock, filling in after starting running back Siaki Fekitoa left with an injury midway through the third quarter, bulled his way down close to the goal line to set up Zayas' winning kick.

Not even back-to-back icing timeouts called by Olympus threw off the senior kicker prior to his moment in the sun, though.

"Our coach says you never know what kind of play will determine the game," Zayas said of his winning boot. "It's awesome to know special teams did their job; it's a great feeling."

It also was the second straight time the Titans and Redhawks were decided by special teams play; last year, it was Olympus who stunned Bountiful with a game-winning field goal of their own in a 13-10 upset win.

This time, it was Zayas and Bountiful who had the last laugh in the kicking game.

"Kickers, we train for one moment in our lives," he said. "It was a moment I can never forget."

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