Falcon Football beats the undefeated Pioneers in a tough league battle

Jennifer Thomas, Bowen Thomas | Lehi Free Press

The Skyridge football team sneaked past Lehi at home on Thursday night (September 26) in a hard-fought matchup between 6A rivals for Region 3 supremacy.

Falcon junior quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne delivered the game-winning 17-yard touchdown run with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter. Skyridge senior kicker Blake Hester contributed to the win with two game-winning field goals, one from 28 yards into the wind, which tied the game at halftime.

Lehi senior quarterback Jet Niu scored two rushing touchdowns, including a 13-yard run, as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Skyridge opened the scoring on the game's first drive with a methodical run and short pass that led to a one-yard score by senior running back Zaeden Selu.

Lehi scored next on a 40-yard field goal from senior kicker Gavin Fenn. Turnovers plagued both teams over the next few drives, with the Falcons turning the ball over twice and Lehi turning it over once.

Late in the second quarter, Lehi senior middle linebacker Paul Latu intercepted a pass from Sweetwyne to give Lehi the ball. Niu hit junior wide receiver Legend Glasker with a deep pass down the sideline, setting up a 2-yard score from Niu and a 10-7 Lehi lead.

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Skyridge responded with a two-minute drive capped by Hester's game-winning 38-yard field goal to end the first half.

The Falcon team took the field full of energy in the third quarter when Sweetwyne broke free on a quarterback run for 22 yards and put Skyridge in field goal position. Hester kicked a second field goal for 20 yards to give the Falcons the lead.

“Kanel did a great job coming through with the 99-yard drive for us in the fourth quarter. “The O-line was great all night,” Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm said.

The fourth quarter was a defensive effort for the Falcons as they twice prevented the Pioneers from scoring inside the five-yard line. Sweetwyne's final touchdown gave his team the lead for good. Lehis Niu did his best as time expired and scored on a quarterback scramble, giving the Falcons a win.

Hemm said: “The defense did well tonight. Getting a penalty, resetting and doing it again was huge. They flew around all night and made it difficult. The entire defense was at its best tonight, nothing was easy.

“The goal line stops and forcing a turnover in a critical situation in a 13-10 ball game where a touchdown changes the momentum made the difference.”

The Falcon defense held Lehi's potent offense to 10 points without allowing any scoring through the air. Falcon senior linebacker De'Shawn Toilolo harassed Niu all night with three QB sacks and forced a fumble.

Senior linebacker Iakopo Malufau had multiple tackles and put pressure on the Pioneer rushing attack by keeping Lehi's star running back Devaughn Eka in check.

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Lehi head coach Ed Larson said, “I feel like we had two opportunities one-on-one with two different offenses, but the Skyridge defense did a great job shutting us out. “We need to learn how to finish in the trenches ; That’s the difference between winning and losing.”

The Lehi defense played well with two interceptions and forced a fumble, but that wasn't enough to overcome Skyridge's balanced attack.

Larson said: “We have to get these little things right, it's the difference between winning and losing.” Next week's practice is about us; We have to improve, train impeccably and do everything right every time if we want to win.”

“Maybe we needed this loss to heal and have the opportunity to come together again,” Eka said. “We have to practice and do what we normally do and everyone gets their 1-11. We have to train a little more focused and intensively next week to prepare for the next opponent.”

Both teams showed good sportsmanship throughout the game as they played with class and without any malice on the pitch.

Skyridge senior offensive lineman Ben Howard said, “Lehi is well-coached and disciplined and tonight's game wasn't rough at all as both teams showed respect.”

“I thought both teams showed great sportsmanship. “It didn’t go smoothly on either side and both teams didn’t let previous plays affect the next plays and both did a great job of resetting, setting up and making the next play,” Hemm said.

Students on both sides of the field cheered on their teams and showed mutual respect, making it a friendly rivalry Thursday night.

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Howard said: “In a situation where we're on the one-yard line, I think we all knew we had to dig deep. Our efforts showed tonight on the game-winning 99-yard drive with a touchdown.”

He added: “We have been practicing and working out our game plan this week. Lehi has great players and challenged us, but our preparation helped us get through.”

Sweetwyne said: “It was a thrill tonight. The O-line performed well and they always pushed; That's what they do, they don't stop pushing. I feel great about the team performance and this game tonight. It was a great win.”

Both teams will reset in practice as they prepare for their upcoming games. Skyridge will hit the road on Friday (October 4) to take on the top-ranked Lone Peak Knights. Lehi will host Westlake the same evening. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m