Things got much closer than they finished in Timpview’s 55-35 victory over Brighton Friday night in Provo.
For three quarters the Thunderbirds were the better team, but the one quarter they were outperformed nearly saw everything unravel.
After watching its 34-point lead dwindle to six just ahead of the fourth quarter, Timpview needed something to change.
Thunderbirds head coach Donny Atuaia recognized the magnitude of the moment and called a timeout to refocus and regain momentum.
“(Brighton) had the momentum,” Atuaia said. “We (wanted to) gather everybody, including our coaches, to get them all settled … We had the lead and so we told everybody just to not panic. ‘Let’s just do our thing.’”
After that disastrous third quarter, which saw Timpview turn the ball over twice and get outscored 21-0, the top seed in the 5A state tournament began to do its thing.
The Thunderbirds put together a sustained touchdown drive that started at the end of the third quarter and spanned into the fourth.
In the process, they chewed up over six and a half minutes, converted on a fourth down attempt, gave their defense some rest and put themselves out front by 13 points.
Atuaia pointed to his team’s ability to run as a catalyst to its grind out victory.
“When it came to our run game today, we relied on it and it came through,” he said. “We’re going to need that going into our next game.”
Initially, the Thunderbirds looked like they were going to run away with a blowout victory, as they took a 20-0 lead after the first quarter.
Timpview widened the gap in the following quarter, taking a 41-7 lead on a 66-yard pick-six from junior defensive back Taani Makasini with just over three minutes to play before halftime.
Brighton cut into the lead going into the break, scoring a touchdown on an 8-yard run from junior running back Beau La Fleur.
La Fleur’s score was the first of four consecutive Bengals’ touchdowns that stole the game’s momentum, cut the Thunderbird lead to six and turned everything upside down before Atuaia called his pivotal timeout.
“Kudos to Brighton for their grit,” Atuaia said. “They were down by a lot, but man, what a way to respond from them.”
Timpview responded with its long drive before adding to its cushion and momentum with another pick-six, this time from senior defensive back Haven Halliday.
Halliday all but squelched Brighton’s comeback bid and its season with the touchdown and put his own team two wins away from its first state championship in nearly a decade.
For Brighton, it fell short of what would have been the school’s first state semifinal appearance since 2014. The Bengals’ year comes to a close with an 8-4 overall record.
For the second year in a row, Timpview finds itself in the 5A state semifinals. Last year, the Thunderbirds made it through to the championship game before falling to Lehi.
Timpview will get its shot at redemption beginning Thursday when it plays Olympus at 11 a.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.