High school football: Strong defensive display gives Northridge win over Pleasant Grove in first round of 5A playoffs

No. 17 Northridge was able to put together a really gritty performance and get and opening round win in the 5A state playoffs over No. 16 Pleasant Grove on Friday, 21-7.

“Overall, I am just really proud of our team. All of the teams we will be facing while we’re in the playoffs are good teams, Pleasant Grove included,” said Northridge head coach Andrew Fresques.

“For us it’s just about sticking together through the ups and downs. Sometimes things won’t be going our way, but we got to trust each other.”

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It was a very sluggish start for both teams. The first score of the game came midway through the second quarter on a 10-yard run by Pleasant Grove’s Dexton Nuttall.

But the lead was very short-lived for Pleasant Grove. On the ensuing kickoff, Northridge got an explosive 95-yard kickoff return from Dontae Dyson to tie things up at 7.

That would be the score heading into the half, with both sides looking to ramp things up offensively.

But the Northridge defense stood firm, holding Pleasant Grove scoreless in the second half. Offensively, Northridge developed a knack for making the big play on the offensive side of the ball, first on a 73-yard touchdown run by Dyson for his second score of the night and then a 95-yard touchdown reception by Grant Slater on a screen pass by quarterback Andrew Ortiz.

“A lot of people like to talk about our big guys, our big offensive and defensive line, but we have some really skilled players too who like to make it a habit of making the big play, which is what we’ve come to expect from them,” said Fresques.

Up by two scores in the fourth quarter, the Northridge defense came up huge on fourth down multiple times, first on fourth and 1 and again a few minutes later on fourth and 6.

An interception by Northridge defensive back Kyle Rawlings helped seal the victory and push his side through to the next round of the tournament.

“Our defense was lights out. We want to make sure the guys play not just for three downs but for all four downs. The defense came up huge for us on multiple occasions, especially on fourth down,” added Fresques.

Next up for Northridge is a date with the top seed in 5A, West. Fresques knows his team has a tough task ahead of it, but every team has to face tough opponents in the playoffs and there is no better time than now for his side to go up against the very best.

“West is a great team and has been doing really well for a long time,” Fresques said. “For us, we haven’t put in all of this time and work not to win it all. At some point your going to go up against the best teams in the state and for us it’s next week.

“There’s still some things we have to clean up. We have to cut out the penalties and be prepared to face the top seed because they’re good in all three phases.”