Lehi Sports
Falcon football rolls over Grizzlies to claim quarterfinal spot
Jennifer Thomas / Lehi Free Press
The No. 2-ranked Skyridge football team achieved a decisive 63-3 victory in the second round of the 6A state playoffs in an uneven contest over No. 15 Copper Hills. The Falcons (8-2) will now host No. 7 American Fork (7-4) on Friday (Nov. 7) at 6 p.m. or whenever the schools agree.
The Falcon offense, led by dual-threat senior quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne, moved up and down the field with ease while the defense dominated the Grizzly offensive attack.
The only score for Copper Hills came on a 40-yard field goal kicked by Jael Chavez in the first quarter.
“Our skilled guys on offense and defense made key stops throughout the game and I am proud of how the team overall played in this game,” said Skyridge head Coach Justin Hemm.
In the one-sided affair, the Skyridge offensive onslaught scored four touchdowns on the ground and four in the air, reflecting great balance as showcased throughout the season.
Sweetwyne opened the offensive scoring on a called 23-yard QB draw followed up by a 14-yard rush for a touchdown by senior running back Lincoln Tahi in the first quarter.
After an interception by sophomore safety Ethan Schriever early in the second quarter, senior receiver Adam Warren kicked off the next drive with a 35-yard catch-and-run from Sweetwyne followed up by Tahi’s one-yard plunge into the endzone.
Senior receiver Talmage Oswald ended the first-half scoring, connecting with Sweetwyne on a 14-yard reception for a touchdown.
To begin the second half, the Falcon coaching staff made the decision to rest Sweetwyne in favor of sophomore quarterback Jagger Fountaine to finish out the game.
Fountaine conducted the offense to a nearly flawless performance, throwing two touchdown passes, one each to Oswald, who ran for 79 yards after the catch, and senior receiver Davis Fyans for a six-yard catch. Junior Jack Mitchem rounded out the scoring with 12-yard rush into the endzone.
Oswald said, “I cut back and turned the burners on for that second touchdown (79 yards). And that felt pretty good.”
“I’m excited for the opportunity I had to play in this game,” said sophomore receiver Beckham Bennett. “I love coming off the bench to contribute on the field and I really love my teammates on the sideline who hype me up. We had so much energy in this game, and it was such a great way to start off the playoffs.”
The first possession by the Falcon offense ended in a three-and-out and a punt by senior Crew Odom. On the first offensive play by Copper Hills, senior defensive end Harvie Moeai forced a fumble picked up by senior linebacker Suka Finau for a 34-yard scoop-and-score to get Skyridge on the board.
“Coach has taught us to read and react and that’s what happened,” said Finau. “I got a lucky bounce, scooped and took it to the crib.”
“I thought (that play) really got the momentum rolling,” said Hemm. “From that point, we got our rhythm and played a good and fairly clean game.”
“Everyone worked hard to get open as that was the game plan from Coach Hemm, to get open and execute and that made the difference in the game tonight,” said Oswald.
The Skyridge defensive front dominated the Cooper Hills running game by holding the Grizzlies under 200 yards of total offense.
Senior defensive end Mason Oeser gave a great performance with several tackles for loss and a sack. The linebacking crew including Griffin Kunz, Easton Simmons, Rex Caswell and Finau made tackles all over the field, further restricting the Grizzly offense. Moeai’s leadership on the field inspired the stingy Falcon defense throughout the game.
During halftime, Falcon defensive coordinator Patrick Gleaves received the “Assistant Coach of the Year Award,” marking the first time an assistant football coach at Skyridge has been given the recognition. Gleaves has coached high school football for 23 years. He has worked as the defensive coordinator at Skyridge for the past 10 years.
“Gleaves puts in a great deal of time and effort to make football a positive experience for the players. He always does a tremendous job,” said Hemm.
“Coach Gleaves always makes sure to let us know what is what and to help us prepare for anything during a game,” said Finau. “That really helped us in this game. We all worked hard defensively to prepare and play a good game tonight.”
With a bye and an extra week to prepare, Skyridge ran the risk of losing their momentum. However, the time off did not disrupt the team’s competitive form.
“The bye made the time off feel like it was a long time. We haven’t played ball for roughly two weeks, and that was challenging going into this game,” Hemm said.
“However, I feel like our boys had great practices last week and carried that into this week as well. This game came at an unnatural kickoff time with other challenges, but overall, we played a well-executed game with lots of energy,” the coach said.
“For the most part we have all our players healthy and back. Next week everyone should be well rested and we will be in a great spot for the next challenge,” continued Hemm.
“It was good for key players who have had injuries to get back on the field in this game, shake some rust off and get some live reps to prepare for what is ahead,” he said.
“We will prepare for next week’s game by watching film, cleaning up some stuff and evaluate from a game-plan standpoint. We will compete this week in practice and work on mentality to be up to the challenge,” Hemm said.
Bennett added, “The break was really nice because we were able to nurse injuries of some players. We were super locked in at practice for the past two weeks and we will do the same again to be ready for next week.”
“We have been practicing hard to prepare for this game and we will get back at it to be ready for next week. It will be a fun one,” said Oswald.
