It's been six long seasons since Cottonwood High football fans have had much to cheer about, let alone celebrate. But the drought is over.
The Colts qualified for the state 5A playoffs with their second victory in four weeks Thursday night, beating Viewmont 20-6. That's quite an achievement after ending a 26-game losing streak earlier this season and "a huge step forward for our program," according to Colt coach Mike Reardon.His team sent a message early as Cottonwood took the opening kickoff and marched 68 yards in 11 plays for a score. Quarterback Kory Knell threw 4 yards to Brian Sorenson for a TD to finish the drive, made up mostly of the ground game of Josh Burkman, Nate Wall and Jered Burkman. It was the best Colts' drive of the game.
Viewmont pulled to within 7-6 just before halftime, moving 78 yards in 10 plays before Brandon Blackwell dove in from the 1. It became a defensive struggle after that.
Sean Jacobsen came up with perhaps the biggest defensive play of the night, picking off a Viewmont pass and returning it to the Viking 15 midway through the third quarter. Four plays later, Knell took it it from the 2 to give the Colts a 14-6 lead. Viewmont drove deep twice in the final period, one drive stopped by an incomplete fourth-down pass and the other by an interception in the endzone by Josh Burkman. The Colts wrapped things up on a 16-yard score from Burkman with 24 seconds left, a TD he set up himself with a 60-yard gain as time wound down.
Now, the Colts prepare for a first-round state matchup with the champion from Region 3 next week, either Hunter or Bingham.
Bountiful 21, Davis 12: Brian Worthley rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries in helping the Braves take care of the Darts. Wes Patterson ran 5 yards for one TD and tossed a 14-yard TD pass for Bountiful's other two scores.