WOODS CROSS – Players, coaches, fans and even the officials left Wildcat Stadium exhausted Friday night after Woods Cross turned back the Bountiful Redhawks 28-14 in a Region 5 game.
The three-hour contest had too much of everything, including emotion and penalties. It reached its peak in the fourth quarter, when the Wildcats took advantage of two big plays to rally for the win and end a five-game losing streak to their neighborhood rival.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Woods Cross coach Brody Benson. “These kids played tough and they played together. They don’t care who gets the credit; they just come ready to play. They’re playing like a team that cares for each other.”
Woods Cross earned its third straight win and improved to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in region. Benson said the Wildcats have really come together after losing a heartbreaker to Rigby (Idaho) earlier this month, when they felt demoralized after having a potentially game-winning field goal blocked in the final minute.
“We’ve just kept playing, trying to get into the fourth quarter and then winning it there,” he said.
The Wildcats led for most of this game. Running back Viliami Tapa’atoutai, who came in ranked among the top 10 rushers in the state, was held to 78 yards on 20 carries, but quarterback Jesse Simmons connected on deep passes when needed, and Woods Cross also took advantage of several pass interference penalties that kept drives alive.
Woods Cross led 13-7 going into the final period and seemingly had the momentum until Bountiful’s Siaki Fekitoa broke loose for an 82-yard run that had college scouts salivating on the sidelines.
Cooper Coleman’s extra point gave the Redhawks the lead with 8:14 remaining.
Simmons tried to throw a deep ball on the Wildcats’ first play of the next drive, and a pass interference call moved the ball to 15 yards closer to the end zone.
Though Woods Cross is normally a run-oriented team, Simmons then found Eli Bodell open on the next play and the 150-pound receiver used his speed to help Woods Cross regain the lead.
The Wildcats celebrated wildly and were penalized five yards. Benson chose to try a two-point conversion from the 8-yard line, and Simmons threw a laser that Ryan Miller caught with a defender on his back to boost the lead to 21-14.
Another celebration led to another penalty but Mason Allred’s kickoff took a couple of crazy bounces that Bountiful couldn’t corral and the Redhawks started their drive on their 11-yard line.
On the next play, quarterback Hudson Malmrose’s pass was intercepted by Marcus Stepan, who returned it 26 yards for the Wildcats’ second score in less than a half-minute.
Bountiful, the defending 5A state champion, never recovered and fell to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in region. Coach Jason Freckleton was obviously tired – and frustrated – but was gracious afterward.
“That’s a tough team over there,” he said. “They brought their all.”
Fekitoa was Bountiful’s bright spot. He was bottled up for much of the evening but still finished with 166 yards on 20 carries. Malmrose missed his first five passing attempts but then had one of his best games of the season before leaving late with an injury.
The statistic most people will remember, however, the penalties. Officials threw 38 flags, which resulted in almost 300 negative yards.
In the game’s final minutes, nearly every play was delayed due to a referee’s ruling.