PLEASANT GROVE — Thanks to the Vikings defense, the task for Pleasant Grove's offense was pretty easy in its 22-15 win over American Fork on Friday night.
In a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated, American Fork's offense completely self-destructed and gave up six turnovers — including on five-straight series in the second half. Pleasant Grove turned three of those turnovers into 16 points and ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.
The pouring rain and muddy field didn't seem to bother the Vikings, but proved to be a big curse for American Fork.
The Cavemen didn't punt the ball a single time in the third or fourth quarters, but still only managed to cross midfield twice. A pair of fumbles and three interceptions were their only offensive output until the closing seconds of the game.
"It was a great night for football," said Pleasant Grove coach Dale Sampson. "This is football weather, and it hurt American Fork and helped us. The turnover bug that they had — we were fortunate it wasn't ours. That is so key that we play good defense and create a turnover against a pretty good offense. Then we were able to turn those into scores a couple of times."
American Fork got off to a shaky start from its very first possession, fumbling the ball four plays into the opening drive. Pleasant Grove turned the fumble into a quick field goal and took a 3-0 first-quarter lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Cavemen made their only sustained drive of the game, going 60 yards on 12 plays and scoring on a 3-yard run by Anthony McGeary.
Just before halftime, the Vikings answered with a 62-yard drive and a 6-yard touchdown run by Mitch Sanderson.
Turnovers became the big story starting in the third quarter. American Fork quarterback Taylor Mangum threw an interception on his team's first possession of the half and Pleasant Grove scored two plays later on a 37-yard pass from Zach Brady to Braden Frampton.
The Cavemen fumbled the ball away early in their next two drives. The second fumble led to the Vikings' final touchdown. A 39-yard drive took up 11 plays and ended with Brady sneaking the ball over the goal line from a yard out.
Mangum threw interceptions on the next two drives, and had a fourth interception wiped out by a penalty.
Mangum threw a touchdown pass to Matt Harward and then converted the two-point play with six seconds left in the game for the final score of the night.