EAGLE MOUNTAIN — It’s rarely ever easy to beat the same team twice in one year, a fact Cedar Valley learned firsthand in grinding out a hard-fought 28-21 win over Tooele in the first round of the 4A state playoffs on Friday.
The hard-charging Buffaloes gave the home team all it could handle from start to finish, with little coming easy throughout.
“We got down, but the boys never quit. They never gave up,” said Cedar Valley coach Weston Zabriskie. “After that first quarter, I felt (we) played a great game and now we get to move on to play another week.”
That first quarter proved a bit nuts, with Tooele using misdirection and trick plays to its advantage in securing a 14-7 lead. The highlight play was a double-reverse halfback pass from running back Dylan Makoni to quarterback Payton Sprouse for a 16-yard touchdown pass toward the end of the first quarter.
But as Zabriskie mentioned, it was the Aviators who took the advantage, proving opportunistic for the final three quarters.
First came an immediate response with a scoring drive that ended when Aviator quarterback Payton Weber hit receiver Taygen Hansen with a perfectly placed 35-yard touchdown strike to tie things at 14-14.
The teams battled back-and-forth from there before the Aviators ended the first half with another touchdown, this one coming with halfback Vili Mausia throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Peck for a 21-14 halftime lead.
“That was huge — especially knowing (Tooele) was getting the ball to start the second half,” Zabriskie said. “We then caused a turnover on the ensuing kickoff, and that’s the sort of thing we weren’t doing at the start of the year.”
Indeed, Cedar Valley’s defense took over the course of play for most of the second half, forcing turnovers to set the offense up in prime position time and again.
Along with forcing turnovers came two key stops in fourth down situations, which proved pivotal in securing the final outcome. In particular was one made late in the game, with the Aviators clinging to a 28-21 lead as Tooele marched down the field, appearing poised to tie things up as they took it clear down to the Cedar Valley 13-yard line.
But enter Aviator defensive lineman Aisea Langi, who proceeded to log back-to-back sacks to force the Buffaloes into a fourth-and-long situation they failed to convert with just under three minutes remaining.
“Aisea was just huge there, putting them back,” Zabriskie said.
“Honestly, it was the whole team,” Langi said of his two standout sacks made on consecutive plays.
With the win, Cedar Valley moves on to face Ridgeline in the second round of the playoffs. Although the Aviators will be underdogs in the game, Zabriskie hopes his young talent can continue to develop and turn the game into yet another win.
“We feel like we have talent, but sometimes talent and potential can be scary words,” Zabriskie said. “But we’re playing good football right now and kids are really believing in what we’re running. ... We’re excited for another game.”