From the opening kickoff — a bell would have been more fitting on this night — Pleasant Grove's Bryan Sampson knew it was going to be like no other game his Vikings had been involved in this season.
Their opponents, the Brighton Bengals, entered their Region 4 showdown with 5A's stingiest defense and with the reputation of being hard hitters. Both teams lived up to their hype, and Pleasant Grove came away with a hard-fought 12-7 victory. The Vikings improved to 4-0 in league play and 7-0 overall.
"I'm glad it's over," Bryan Sampson said. "It was a tough game. I knew from the first play it was going to be long game."
The Vikings not only survived the battle, but also showed that their defense may be second-to-none in 5A.
After Brighton got on the scoreboard first — with a 71-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Newell to Zane Smith that ricocheted off a defender's hands — the Vikings simply dominated the game. Pleasant Grove held Brighton to 62 yards and two first downs the rest of the game.
The Bengals only got into Pleasant Grove territory one time after their opening drive and didn't cross midfield after halftime.
"It was two great defenses going toe-to-toe," Vikings coach Dale Sampson said. "We have gotten one more punch than they got."
Brighton's highly touted defense certainly kept its team in the game until the final whistle. The Bengals intercepted Pleasant Grove quarterback Dallas Lloyd two times and sacked him five times. Lloyd left the game with a shoulder injury on what ultimately was the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. His injury will be further evaluated today.
The Vikings answered Brighton's first score with an impressive 80-yard scoring drive on their first possession. Like the Bengals, the Vikings also caught a couple of lucky breaks. First, Lloyd was intercepted by Moses Lotulelei near the goal-line, but during his return Lotulelei fumbled the ball and Pleasant Grove recovered it.
Two plays later, Lloyd tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Doman that was tipped by a Brighton defender to get the Vikings within 7-6.
The score stayed that way until early in the fourth quarter. A 23-yard punt by Brighton put Pleasant Grove in good field position at the Bengals' 34. It took just four plays for the Vikings to punch in the go-ahead score, with Jeff Harris scoring on a 7-yard run.
"I'm glad we stuck with it," Bryan Sampson said. "A 'W' is a 'W.' Those are the strongest guys I've played against all year. It was the most physical game I played in this year."
Dale Sampson focused his defensive game plan around shutting down Brighton's running game. It certainly worked as the Bengals gained just 19 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Lotulelei had a 34-yard run late in the first quarter, but it was nullified by a holding penalty.
"We knew we had to take something away," Dale Sampson said. "We were pretty good against the run. They may have been better against our run. It was just one of those great games."
Bryan Sampson led Pleasant Grove's offense at tight end, hauling in seven receptions for 103 yards. Lloyd completed 12-of-18 passes for 156 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter.
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