Ridgeline looking like team to beat in 4A after 39-3 road win at Park City

PARK CITY — The Park City Miners are consistently one of the better teams in Utah's 4A classification, with their most recent success being a quarterfinal appearance in last year's state playoffs.

Friday was all Ridgeline, though, as the Riverhawks descended from the north to lay down a wire-to-wire beating on the Miners' home turf in the form of a 39-3 road win.

The Riverhawks, who bowed out in the semifinals of last year's 4A playoffs, look like the team to beat in the classification this year, with a pair of Division I talents leading the way on both sides of the ball in senior receiver/defensive back Graham Livingston and junior tight end/defensive end Krew Jones.

Livingston opened up the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Nate Dahle, and Jones ran in the 2-point conversions on the team's first two touchdowns to take a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter.

"Shout out to my line and everyone blocking. I mean, the first one I literally walked into the end zone," Jones said of the extra points. "There was no pressure, so they're doing a great job. We practice all the time and keep on repping it, so we're well dialed in with that play."

Ridgeline head coach Travis Cox admitted that going for 2 so much was actually a result of their point-after field goals still being a "work in progress," but if you convert the 2 points every time, then why not?

The game came to a halt with 4:16 remaining in the first half when Ridgeline forced a safety and Park City quarterback Josh Hofer had to be taken off the field on a stretcher due to a head injury.

The game went right to halftime and picked up with the final 4:16 of the second quarter following the break.

Livingston added another touchdown in the third quarter on a 68-yard reception from Dahle, and Braxton Parry sealed the win with a 68-yard interception returned for a touchdown.

"I thought we were aggressive, controlled the line of scrimmage, and kind of kept the ball in front of us," Cox said of his defense. "I know they had some deep shots last week, and so that was kind of the emphasis of us this week, to keep it in front of us and get some pressure on the quarterback."

Ridgeline stays on the road next week to take on 5A squad Brighton, while Park City travels to Morgan to take on the 3A powerhouse.

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