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- Skyridge defeated American Fork 26-14 despite turnovers and adversity on a wet night.
- Backup QB Jagger Fountaine led a strong finish after Kaneal Sweetwyne's injury exit.
- Skyridge's defense forced key stops and turnovers to secure the road victory.
AMERICAN FORK — On a cold and wet night, Skyridge overcame turnovers and some adversity to earn a 26-14 road win over American Fork, thanks to timely defense, explosive plays, and a steady finish from backup quarterback Jagger Fountaine.
After a scoreless first quarter filled with defensive stands — including an interception by American Fork's Jackson Theobald in the red zone — both teams struggled to find rhythm early.
The Cavemen missed a pair of field goals in the opening half, while the Falcons went three-and-out on two drives in the first quarter before finally breaking through with a touchdown in the second quarter.
Quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne ignited the Skyridge offense with a 35-yard touchdown run to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead; however, turnovers plagued the Falcons for much of the half, as Sweetwyne threw three interceptions. American Fork's Gunner Michaelis and Samson Thompson each joined Theobald with an interception on the night, too.
Michaelis' interception quickly turned into points for the Cavemen when Ty Holmstead hauled in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Nate Childs to tie the game at 7-7. But Skyridge answered right back when Lincoln Tahi powered in from 9 yards out to make it 13-7 after a blocked extra point.
Despite the turnovers, Skyridge's defense held strong. American Fork missed another field goal as time expired in the half, keeping the Falcons in control heading into the break.
The Falcons extended its lead in the third quarter when Sweetwyne connected with Adam Warren on a 50-yard touchdown — Warren's first of the season — to push the lead to 20-7. Holmstead responded with his second touchdown of the night, a 26-yard grab on fourth down, cutting the deficit to six heading into the fourth quarter.
Sweetwyne exited early in the fourth quarter with an injury, but sophomore Jagger Fountaine stepped in at quarterback and delivered. With just over four minutes left in the game, he found Omarian Sanders for a 27-yard touchdown pass that proved to be too much for the Cavemen to overcome.
The Skyridge then defense shut the door from there, forcing back-to-back turnovers on downs and capping the night with an interception by Ethan Schriever to secure the 26-14 victory.
"First off and foremost, they did a great job stopping the run," Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm said. "Besides one or two plays, we limited the big play. There's opportunities for you to get ahead of the chains, and I thought our defense did a great job with that. Some key stops there in the second half."
"I think we got guys all over the place, on both sides of the ball, that play football and play at a high level, and they're willing to step up when their numbers' called," Hemm added.
Hemm praised his young quarterback Fountaine for his composure in relief of Sweetwyne.
"We've got a lot of faith in Jag and what he can do and who he's going to be," Hemm said. "He was cool, calm, collected, came in, was able to execute, made some big throws there down the stretch to move chains and get us in the end zone."
The Falcons weren't perfect in the win, but it counts the same way.
On top of the three interceptions, Skyridge allowed two blocked kicks, with one coming on a PAT and another on a field goal attempt after a high snap. But Hemm said the performance of his team reflected a winning mindset.
"I don't know if this was our cleanest game, but I think great teams win games regardless of what it looks like," Hemm said. "This one was more of a gritty, grinding-out type of game."
With the win, Skyridge improves to 7-2 and continues to trend in the right direction with the playoffs coming up, while American Fork falls to 6-4 after dropping its third straight game, missing out at an opportunity at home.
