BOUNTIFUL — Back-to-back outings against Utah County foes turned into back-to-back poundings by Bountiful High's football team.
This time it was Spanish Fork, which faltered against a talented Braves squad 34-7 Friday night. Bountiful dominated all aspects of the game, controlling the clock with its running game comprised of four players, while its stingy defense did not allow the Dons much success.
"I'm really proud of our guys because that is a tough team with a lot of weapons that can score some points," Bountiful head coach Larry Wall said of Spanish Fork. "I think we were able to set the tempo early with the two touchdowns, but we lost some momentum when we fumbled in the red zone and they scored."
Things did not seem to go the Dons' way all night, while Bountiful rolled early. The Braves picked off Hayden Nielsen on the opening drive. They used their four-back attack to march the ball downfield beginning at the 50-yard line. Ben Lemon did not touch the ball until he scored from 2 yards out, but set up the score with a punishing block on the previous drive that allowed Tyler Farr to go wide and grab a first down. Bountiful doubled its score on the next drive, pounding the ground attack again. Quarterback Tyler Talbot recorded the score from 1 yard out. Spencer Mohlman added the extra point on both drives.
More impressive than the Braves' running game was its effort against Spanish Fork's ground game. They held the Dons to minus-57 yards rushing in the first half, which helped them keep the lead after losing the momentum on offense in the second quarter. In that second quarter, the defense had key stops, including a turnover of downs after a Spanish Fork penalty and a couple of sacks.
"We knew we needed to take an early lead rather than have them jump out on us because then it would have been a whole different ballgame," said Wall.
After a quiet second quarter, Farr took the second-half kickoff 90 yards to put the Braves up 21-0. Things could have gotten even uglier on the next play when Spanish Fork had a bad punt snap, where the kick was eventually blocked that left the Braves sitting on the Dons' 2-yard line. But Blake Denning forced a Braves' fumble that would lead to to a 99-yard scoring drive by Spanish Fork. Tim Moala rushed in from 4 yards out. But the Braves added two more scores to put the game out of reach.
"Bountiful is a great team and a good test for us," said Spanish Fork coach Matt Christensen. "We turned the ball over in the red zone and could not convert short yardage in situations tonight."