BOUNTIFUL — The Bountiful-Woods Cross rivalry on the gridiron hasn't produced many exciting games through the years, especially none with the gripping drama of Friday's game.
In a surprisingly good defensive football game, Bountiful escaped with a 14-12 victory by denying Woods Cross on a two-point conversion with 5.8 seconds left in the game.
The Wildcats tied the game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Parson to Darchon Taggert, but Parson couldn't complete the two-point conversion attempt amid a heavy pass rush from Bountiful's Mitch Johnson.
Bountiful improved to 5-0 with the victory and extended its winning streak to 19 straight over neighboring rival Woods Cross.
"They have some good young kids. They didn't sneak up on us a bit," said relieved Bountiful coach Larry Wall, whose team won despite three turnovers, thanks in part to a defense that forced four turnovers of its own.
Woods Cross scored on its opening drive of the game on a CJ Corry three-yard TD run and maintained the 6-0 lead until late in the third quarter, when Ben Lemon put Bountiful ahead 7-6 on a one-yard TD plunge.
The Wildcats had two promising drives from good starting field position foiled on early fourth-quarter turnovers, and Bountiful seemed poised to run out the clock after a key first down with under two minutes remaining. Ironically enough, Lemon scored on a 57-yard touchdown run on the very next play, which gave Woods Cross new life despite trailing 14-6.
It responded with an impressive drive against a vaunted Bountiful defense that hadn't surrendered more than nine points in a game all year. Parsons completed 5-of-9 passes on the last-minute drive, including a fourth-down completion to Tanner Johnson. One more competition would've forced overtime.
"I give my hat to them, they had a good game plan and we're fortunate to come away with a win," Wall said.
Woods Cross coach Fred Fernandes was kicking himself after the game that his team came away empty-handed on its second drive despite a first-and-goal.
"My team played good enough to win; it was coaching that lost game, and that's why I feel bad for my kids. I made some critical screw-ups," said Fernandes.