PLEASANT GROVE — A year ago, Pleasant Grove defeated Timpview in Provo to open the 2009 season and snap the Thunderbirds' 36-game winning streak. Exactly 12 months later, the two teams met again, but this time on the Vikings' home turf. The result was a convincing 24-7 Timpview victory that extended the T-Birds' current winning streak to 11 games.
"It's a good feeling to win," said Timpview coach Louis Wong. "But we knew that they had a good team last year, and I think they're going to be a good team this year.
"They did a lot of good things. They're a quality program, but they're young, and I understand that. They'll get better, and we'll get better, too."
The T-Birds didn't waste any time taking it to the Vikings. In their first possession of the game, they churned almost nine minutes off the clock before Tyler Solorzano kicked a 40-yard field goal to give Timpview the early lead.
After forcing Pleasant Grove to punt, Timpview drove 84 yards before Bryson McKenzie ran the ball in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown. The key play in the drive was a 37-yard touchdown pass from Christian Covey to Zac Hayward that set the T-Birds up at the Vikings' 5-yard line.
Covey finished the game completing 20-of-26 passes for 203 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Both touchdowns came in the third quarter. The first came after Timpview recovered a Pleasant Grove fumble less than one minute into the third quarter. The T-Birds drove down to the Vikings' 1-yard line but failed to convert two straight runs up the middle.
On third down, Covey connected with McKenzie for the touchdown and the 17-0 lead.
"I thought he (Covey) made some good decisions," said Wong. "I think he only had one pick, but I think he did a good job running lateral when he needed to, to give himself time to find the open man. I also think that, based on the type of coverage they were playing — they were in man coverage — and he saw that their backs were turned, and he said 'All right, here's my opportunity to run.' His leadership was excellent tonight."
Timpview's final score came after Thomas Newell intercepted a Zack Christensen pass. Two 15-yard penalties gave Timpview the ball at midfield. Five plays later, Covey found Rickey Shumway in the end zone for the touchdown and the 24-0 lead.
The Vikings got on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by Cooper Caldwell with seconds remaining in the third quarter. He carried the ball for 44 yards during the 77-yard drive.
Timpview moves to 1-0 on the new season, while Pleasant Grove starts off 0-1.