The Chargers won the coin toss and elected to kick to the Vikings. The Vikings were excited to have the ball first, but after five plays, they punted the ball back to Corner Canyon. The Chargers mirrored Pleasant Groves efforts and punted the ball back to the Vikings. This time the Vikings were ready.
On the third play of the drive, senior Koy Wilkinson took the hand off from junior quarterback Isaac Hamilton and broke through the line and rambled 35 yards to cross the goal line with 8:31 remaining in the quarter.
On the ensuing kick off, Corner Canyon special teams unit took the ball at their own three yard line and ripped off a 97 yard kick off return. Now, with 8:17 remaining in the quarter, both teams had scored, yet no one had really over powered the other. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 7-7.
In the second quarter, it was mainly defense on both teams that controled the action. Corner Canyon scored on a 46-yard field goal, taking the lead with a 10-7 score. With 4:01 showing on the clock, Pleasant Grove's Malik Overstreet scored on a 9-yard reception for the first of three touchdowns he would score in the game, and as time ran out for the second quarter, the score was 14-10 with Pleasant Grove holding on to a small lead at the half.
The third quarter was again a lot of defensive work on both teams. With 4:14 showing, the Chargers scored on their second field goal, bringing them closer to Pleasant Grove with a 14-13 difference. But on the Vikings' next posession, Overstreet caught another Hamilton pass and raced 66 yards into the end zone for his second score of the game. At the end of three quarters, the Vikings still held the lead with a 21-13 difference on the scoreboard.
The fourth period is where Pleasant Grove's defense really came to play. On the first play of the quarter, Corner Canyon scored on a pass reception by junior Daiden Dutson. The Chargers, attempting to score on a 2-point conversion, the Vikings defense stopped them from crossing the goal line by knocking the pass away from the receiver. Pleasant Grove was flagged for an infraction and the Chargers had another opportunity to score, this time from the 3-yard line. The Chargers lined up, the ball was snapped and the Viking defense stopped the runner before he could cross the goal line. The score remained 21-19 for the Vikings with 11:55 showing on the clock.
After the game, Pleasant Grove head coach Les Hamilton said, "That play kind of took the wind out of their sails. Our defense played very well tonight, and those goal line stands proved their worth."
With that stop, Pleasant Groves defense gained confidence. After Corner Canyon's next posession, Overstreet took the Chargers punt deep in Pleasant Grove territory and carried the ball 84 yards up the outside line and then crossed to the left, scoring his third and final touchdown of the game and effectively securing the game for the Vikings.
Viking Tate Briggs, a senior linebacker, had three sacks in the game. He gave his teammates all the kudos. "The D Backs did their job of getting the linemen out of the way and opened the field so it was just me and the running back and I caught them," he said. "It was totally a team effort."
Hamilton agreed, saying, "The key to this game was defense, defense, defense. We had some turnovers we had to deal with and some penalties, but it is the first game. We'll get over that."
Viking senior running back Coleman Edwards added, "Malik (Overstreet) is the best all-around player in the state, on offense, defense or special teams."
Hamilton finished with, "Yea, defense won the game for us, uh, and Malik."
Pleasant Grove starts out with a 1-0 record and will take that win on the road to Loomis, California, to play De Oro High School on Aug. 28. Corner Canyon will also travel Aug. 28 to play Maple Mountain High School.
Kent Allen lives in Pleasant Grove and reports on Pleasant Grove High School varsity sports for Deseret Connect.