Fans could have shown up just before halftime for the Syracuse at Alta football game, and they would not have missed much.
The most exciting play over the first 21 minutes was a 60-plus-yard punt by Alta that pinned Syracuse just behind its own 6-yard line for its opening drive and a Hawks’ interception.
But the two teams made up for it with back-to-back touchdowns in the waning minutes of the half en route to a Syracuse (4-1) 25-20 win over the Hawks (2-3).
“I feel like tonight’s game, we started slower than I’d like,” said Syracuse coach Mitch Tulane, “but I really liked the way we came out in the second half.”
Both teams moved the ball in the first two quarters, there just weren’t many results to show for it. It was at 2:06 mark of the second quarter that Lucas Pagel punched the ball in from five yards out behind Bennett Coester’s blocking, and then Jack McAllister made the PAT to put Alta up 7-0.
The Hawks’ only lead of the game was short-lived, because Syracuse got on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive after Ledger Wight found Bracken Lessey for the duo’s first of three scores in the win.
The Titans then caught everyone off guard as backup quarterback and placeholder Holden Laker took the snap on the PAT and rushed into the end zone untouched for two points to tip the lead to Syracuse at 8-7.
The third quarter went a bit off the rails as 12 of the game’s 23 penalties came in the 12 minutes. Alta saw an interception negated after a roughing the passer call, which was one of its three personal fouls in the quarter. Both teams had key penalties, with Syracuse having a touchdown called back for holding.
The difference, though, was the Titans put two scores on the board to Alta’s one to extend their lead to 18-13. The Titan touchdown came from Wight to Lessey, again, this time from 30 yards out, and then Skyler Orton booted a 35-yard field goal.
Alta had the most exciting play in the quarter though, as Tucker Brown hit Evan Morton in stride for an 80-yard score, though the two-point conversion failed.
Despite a penalty-ridden third quarter, the win seemed to be in reach for both teams even after Wight and Lessey completed their hat trick with just over eight minutes left to play.
Down 25-13, Alta cut it back to a one-score game off Tucker Brown’s pass to Trevyn Fabrizio from the 9-yard line with 4:03 left on the clock.
McAllister added the extra point for the 25-20 score, but the Hawks’ defense couldn’t stop Wight and Ryker Van Komen’s ground effort to give the offense another chance.
“We’re two touchdowns away from being 4-1, and the hard part is you’re never going to win a game with 140 yards of penalties,” said Alta coach Blake Burdette. “We beat ourselves tonight. They are a really great team, but we are a really great team.”
For Syracuse, it remains undefeated on the road and its only loss this season was a heartbreaker to an out of state team that the Titans had a chance to win.
“We did have a slow start tonight,” admitted Lessey, “but we started on the 5.5-yard line, and it’s hard to start from there. It took us a while. We did get it going and this was a nice bounce back from the loss last week and helps us going into region play.”
Up next Alta opens region play at Olympus, and Syracuse hosts region foe Layton.