AMERICAN FORK — Watching football at American Fork this year has been like living in the land of the big play. Key interceptions, amazing runbacks, timely runs and intense passes have dotted the football landscape for two games, and coach Davis Knight isn't the least bit upset about it — especially when most of those big plays are being carried out by his team.
Mr. Big Play himself, Cade Zarbock, scored another three touchdowns this week in addition to making timely runs on key fourth downs and smashing the biggest punt of the season 64 yards downfield and putting Riverton into an impossible position with less than 45 seconds left in the game. The Cavemen held on to win a barnburner against a tough Riverton squad with the 34-27 final score.
And a big part of that win actually belongs to the other big-play man from the Cavemen against the Silverwolves, Josh Brown. Not only did Brown intercept a pass from Riverton quarterback Eric Thoreson and run it back 84 yards for the game-winning touchdown after a solid run downfield by the Silverwolves in the fourth quarter, he also picked off a pass with less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock to finish off the game and solidify the Caveman win.
"I'll take interceptions any time. We needed that interception by Brown. I saw him eyeball it, and he's a smart player and did what he'd been practicing, what he'd been taught," said Knight after watching the defensive back save the victory twice.
The Cavemen led 27-20 heading into the fourth quarter, and though much of their offense wasn't as successful as they'd have liked, they took time off the clock, and Brown put points on the board to give them the 34-20 advantage instead of what could easily have turned into a tie ballgame early in the fourth quarter.
Riverton came back to score on a 16-yard pass from Thoreson to Skyler Fullmer with 4:11 to go and pulled his team within seven, but it just wasn't enough what with Zarbock's punt and Brown's interception.
Kaden Worthington worked in the trenches all game and scored on the first drive of the game on an eight-yard run that was set up by a 59-yard pass from Chase Hansen to Zarbock.
"He was running north and south. He's a good counter-punch to Zarbock. They complement each other," Knight said about Worthington's up-the-middle, tough-as-nails style.
But Zarbock's flash scored the next three American Fork touchdowns, as he took it in from one yard out in the first quarter, broke one open for the 44-yard score in the second, and picked up a nice play into the end zone on a 14-yard pass from Hansen late in the first half. For his efforts, Zarbock delivered three touchdowns for the second straight game.
"I'd like to see that in three straight. Maybe it just means he's a good athlete. He has a great football personality," said Knight about the player who seems to quickly be turning into his jack-of-all-trades superstar.
Faaitua Laei, Jordan Bennett — on a pass from Thoreson — and Dillon Draper accounted for Riverton's first three touchdowns. Knight was highly complimentary of his opposition as well, giving the Riverton team props in several areas of the game.
The Silverwolves did come close to catching up several times, but the Cavemen always managed to remain one step ahead.
Riverton got its first score on a seven-yard run by Faaitua Laei, scored again on a Jordan Bennett 10-yard pass reception from Thoreson, added a six-yard run in the third quarter for a touchdown by Dillon Draper and finished off its scoring on the pass from Thoreson to Fullmer.
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