For almost four full quarters Friday night, it looked like the Provo Bulldogs would simply "Ware" Pleasant Grove down - as in David Ware. After all, the senior wide receiver seemed to be Matt Thornton's favorite, if not only target.
But the Vikings made things interesting as the game came to a close in a snowstorm at PG, driving to the Provo five-yard line before dropping a 14-9 Region 4 decision.The Bulldogs seemed well in control for most of this one, moving the ball 75 yards in 11 plays on their initial drive. Thornton culminated the drive with an 18-yard TD pass to Nick Rhineer, who in fact recovered a fumble in the end zone after Nate Hutchings caught the pass and was tackled going over the goal line. Scott Bayles' PAT gave the 'Dogs a 7-0 lead.
PG came back with a sustained drive of its own, moving from the 29 to Provo's 15 before settling for a 31-yard field goal by Glenn Giles with 9:03 left in the half. Then the snow began to fall and it looked like the half might end that way.
That's when Thornton began a series of passes to Ware, moving the ball from the 21 to the PG 40, then connecting on a nifty sideline toss to Hutchings again for a score. Provo thus led 14-3 at intermission.
Defense dominated the third quarter, and when PG took over at its own 18 with under seven minutes left in the game, the Vikes appeared to be without hope.
On second down, QB Ryan Wilkins pitched out to Brian Romney, who then threw a halfback pass to a wide open Travis Armistead. He ran 82 yards for the TD, but a two-point conversion failed, leaving the Vikes down 14-9 with 6:32 remaining.
Pleasant Grove got one last chance with just over two minutes left. Starting at the 22, Wilkins threw to Kelly Griffiths for 25 yards, then to Armistead for seven and Griffiths for 13. On fourth-and-10 from the Provo 33, he found Brian Blain open on the sidelines for a 30 yard gain to the three. After a two-yard loss on first down, a rush for no gain and an incomplete pass, it all came down to a fourth-and-goal from the five with nine seconds left. Wilkins' pass into the end zone was knocked down to preserve the Provo win.
Thornton found Ware eight times for 112 yards on the night, most of them crucial completions to keep drives alive. The Bulldogs finished region play with a 3-2 record, and now await seeding for next week's state playoffs.