Lehi Sports
Skyridge falls to Timpview 33-29 in season opener thriller
On Aug. 15, the Skyridge Falcons fell 33-29 to the Timpview Thunderbirds in a thrilling back-and-forth contest at Thunderbird stadium. Skyridge put points on the board first, scoring late in the first quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne. The Falcons gained their momentum with an explosive second quarter scoring 22 more points, which included a 99-yard kick return touchdown by senior kick returner Tavian Edwards.
Timpview’s defense held strong in the final two quarters, complementing crucial offensive drives to secure the victory. Despite their best efforts, the Falcons were unable to score during the second half of the game.
The Falcon offense suffered several miscues and turnovers in the second half of the game, including two costly interceptions. Skyridge special teams added to the errors with a missed PAT and a punt snap over the head of the punter, which resulted in a Thunderbird touchdown. The O-Line consistently did their job by protecting the Falcon quarterback and opened up holes for senior running back Zaeden Selu to gain yards.
Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm said, “The first half went great. The second half was not as consistent as we would have liked to have seen. We got behind the chains a little too often and that was the opposite case in the first half. We need to balance that out and put ourselves in a better situation going forward.”
Offensive lineman Ben Howard said, “We have to work harder, Timpview is a great team who worked harder tonight. I know we can come back and work harder. You will see that next week.”
The Skyridge front seven showed well with several pressures on the talented Timpview QB, Carson Rasmussen, and giving up very little in the run game.
Senior linebackers DeShawn Toilolo, Iakopo Malufau and Noah Bird all registered sacks and harried the Thunderbird quarterback all night. The young Falcon secondary gave up too many chunk plays, which allowed for Timpview scores as they rallied from a 29-14 deficit in the final two quarters.
“Defense did an excellent job tonight. They made everything tough on Timpview. We forced them to have to drive the field and do some things and made it difficult for them to make some plays,” said Hemm.
“This was a good game, Timpview came out and executed very well. We knew it would be a great game. We left a couple of plays out there, but that is a part of football. We need to clean some things up and be better going forward,” Hemm added.
The Falcons will travel out of state for the first time ever to Henderson, Nev., to contend with the Liberty High School Patriots on Aug. 23.
