6A football semifinals: Peyton Wilson and the American Fork defense plays crucial role in 37-27 win over East

SALT LAKE CITY — He very well may be the smallest player on American Fork’s team, although there was nothing small about Peyton Wilson’s play in his team’s 37-27 win over East in the 6A semifinals on Friday.

Helping defend against East’s often overwhelming offensive attack, the senior defensive back made two key defensive plays to help flip the outcome of the game.

His first standout play came during a fourth-and-2 situation from American Fork’s 38-yard line with just 1:20 left in the half. Wilson was able to string out a sweep around the end to hold East a yard short of the first down. A couple of plays later saw Tanner Holden haul in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Maddux Madsen as the Cavemen jumped on top 20-14.

East then threatened again, driving clear to the American Fork 31 before Wilson managed to pick off a pass just short of the end zone to stymie another East scoring bid just before the half.

“He’s just a warrior, and I don’t know how tall Peyton is or how much he weighs, but he just plays football with everything he’s got,” said American Fork coach Aaron Behm. “To see him making big plays is exciting.”

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Wilson was hardly alone is stepping up big for what had been a lacking American Fork defensive unit earlier in the year. Sure, the Leopards managed 27 points scored and 401 yards of total offense, but those totals were a far cry from the gobs of yardage and 45 points the Cavemen gave up in a 57-45 win over the same team earlier in the year.

“They’ve just been hungry to get better,” Behm said of his defense. “After giving up 45 to these guys the fourth week of the season, they weren’t satisfied. They didn’t like that, so they just worked extremely hard to get better and I think you’re starting to see that late in the season.”

• Watch replay: American Fork 37, East 27

Kade Wakefield also had a big interception late with McKay Owen recording a fumble recovery late for the Cavemen, adding to an otherwise solid defensive effort.

As for Wilson, he was just happy to contribute where he could, helping the Cavemen to a second-straight 6A state championship game.

“It’s just a lot of effort from everyone and we love the challenge,” Wilson said. “My teammates made the plays I had easy. Credit goes to them, and it’s just so fun right now. We love being the underdog and love being able to go back to the championship.”