Logan is a big player, I know I can throw it up and he'll make a play no matter what. – Sky View QB Braxton Godderidge
SMITHFIELD — Sky View receiver Logan Miller hauled in two touchdowns and had 244 receiving yards, and the Bobcats held off a late surge against Box Elder to win 28-23 on Thursday night.
"I couldn't have done anything without my teammates," the senior wide receiver said. "They're great. They do everything. The offensive line opened holes and Braxton (Godderidge) threw great."
At the end of the first quarter, Miller and the Bobcats didn't have much to cheer about.
Sky View fumbled on its own 34-yard line just before the end of the first quarter. The turnover led to Box Elder's first touchdown of the night, a 4-yard run by senior running back Nick Sorenson, to make it 7-0 with 11:20 remaining in the second quarter.
Sky View answered on the next drive. After incompletions on first and second down, Godderidge hit Miller on a 44-yard pass to get the Bobcats to the Box Elder 36-yard line. Godderidge connected with Miller seven plays later on a 7-yard pass to even the score at 7-7 with 9:41 left in the half.
"Logan is a big player," Godderidge said. "I know I can throw it up and he'll make a play no matter what."
The pair weren't done. Godderidge hit Miller on a fly route up the left side for a 75-yard gain on Sky View's next offensive drive and set up a 6-yard touchdown run by senior running back Dane Anderson to make it 14-7 with 6:22 left in the second quarter.
Anderson had two touchdowns in the game.
On the first play after the kickoff, Box Elder junior running back Breckin Gunter took a handoff up the middle for a 40-yard gain to get to the Sky View 40-yard line.
"(Gunter is) just a load to bring down. The kid is a stud," said Sky View head coach Craig Anhder. "Box Elder is a strong, big, physical team."
The Bees couldn't get into the end zone and kicked a 31-yard field goal by junior Peter Gerlach to pull within four points, 14-10, with three minutes left in the half. Gerlach missed a 35-yard attempt midway through the next quarter.
With about three minutes left in the third quarter, sophomore defensive back Alex McCrae intercepted Box Elder quarterback Shane Watson on the Bobcat 15-yard line. Six plays later, Miller caught his second touchdown pass of the night, this one from 58 yards, to give Sky View a 28-10 lead.
Watson had a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to make it 28-23 with less than 30 seconds left in the game, but Box Elder couldn't find the end zone on a 2-point conversion or recover the ensuing onside kick to pull off the comeback.
Gunter finished with 129 rushing yards for the Bees, who fell to 5-3 with the loss.
Godderidge completed 15 of 26 passes for 344 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Sky View is now 6-2 with one loss in region play. The Bobcats will face Ogden at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the road.
"I don't know if we knew how important tonight was," Godderidge said after the game. "We had to get a win for a home game in the playoffs."
Tavin Stucki is a senior journalism student at Utah State University and editor in chief of The Utah Statesman, the Aggie campus newspaper. Twitter: @stuckiaggies EMAIL: tstuckinews@gmail.com