"Forget the regular season," Alta coach Mitch Lunak told his Hawk players before taking the field Friday. "The playoffs begin now."
That being the case, the 4-3 Hawks are alive and well after a 17-7 snowfest victory over Mountain View. The win kept Alta's actual playoff chances open, and resulted in a play-in rematch again with the Bruins.The two teams face off Tuesday at Jordan High for a final Region 4 seed.
"You win, you keep going. You lose you're done," Lunak added. "We have another one Tuesday, and they'll be ready. But I'm sure we'll be ready too."
One player Lunak is thrilled to count on is fullback Wes Reese, whose 39-yard trot into the end zone put Alta up for good. After partially tearing knee ligaments last week at Timpanogos, Reese wasn't sure how he could help out against the Bruins.
"I'm trying to play on it lightly," Reese said. "It was pretty snowy. I thought about slipping on the run, but it felt good and the blocking was great."
"Obviously the kid's got the fortitude to step up and take it," Lunak added. "Just him being out there with his leadership is just as important to us."
Alta took the lead on its first drive of the game. Mike Frogley grabbed a 48-yard pass from Lance Jensen to get deep in Bruin territory. Three plays later Chris Nelson skidded in from 13 yards out for a 6-0 score.
After being intercepted at the Alta 8-yard line, Mountain View quarterback Joel Hawkins battled back minutes later by linking up with Matt Rowe for a 56-yard touchdown and 7-6 Bruin lead.
But after Reese put the Hawks on top, Mountain View was held to just one first down in its first four drives of the second half. Alta tacked on a 32-yard field goal into the snow from Christian Harris to make it 17-7.
"It was difficult to see downfield when it snows like that," Bruins' coach Randy Rehrer said, "but it's no excuse. They scored on that first possession and momentum was completely on their side. We had our opportunities early and we let them slip away in the first half."