Brighton and Lincoln Reutzel have been playing catch with a football most of their young lives.
They started another session Thursday night, kicking off their senior year at Stansbury High. After having to wait an additional 75 minutes for a heavy thunderstorm to pass, they finally got into their groove and helped the Stallions defeat the Skyline Eagles, 14-10.
The duo connected on two second-half scores to rally Stansbury from an early deficit, and then Lincoln Reutzel made the key play defensively when he intercepted a pass near the goal line to finally secure the season-opening win.
“The first half was a struggle. We had to flip on the switch,” said Lincoln Reutzel. “There was a lot of buildup to this game and it meant a lot to our players.”
Stansbury defeated Skyline 26-23 in a thriller last year that went down to the final seconds. This season, though, both teams have different lineups, and the Eagles, of course, have a new coach in Brandon Matich.
“We went in not knowing anything about them,” said Stansbury coach Jason Walker of the Eagles. “We knew what he has done at other places he has been, but we were off on our execution.
“Nothing really happened to make us play better. The kids just had to play our game. Skyline is a good team. We just needed to make the plays.”
Both teams could say they had plenty of opportunities. Early on, the Eagles had most of them. Under threatening skies, Skyline’s Liam Whitworth-Hosea returned the opening kickoff 49 yards and a facemask penalty on Stansbury provided an early dose of momentum.
However, a thunder and lightning show followed immediately and forced the players and fans indoors. When the storm ended, the teams regrouped at 8:15 p.m. and the Stallions forced an interception to end the threat.
Stansbury, however, couldn’t move the ball consistently and the Eagles took advantage. Matthew Payne kicked a 27-yard field goal to give Skyline its first score of the season, and quarterback Tate Johnson connected with Tui Will Taholo on a 38-yard score to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead at intermission.
Skyline couldn’t feel comfortable, though, because it was guilty of several penalties and had two failed fourth-down conversions. The Eagles also missed another opportunity when Payne successfully booted a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter, but the play was nullified when a Stansbury player jumped offside.
Payne’s next attempt — five yards closer — missed wide left and Stansbury took over.
Brighton Reutzel led the Stallions downfield, and a 4-yard strike to his brother reduced the margin to 10-7 just before the end of the third period.
Stansbury then took the lead when Reutzel finished a 60-yard scoring drive. Helped by defensive holding and pass interference penalties, he found his brother open with 7:22 left, and the Stallions never gave up that lead.
Skyline moved downfield and a nifty scramble by Johnson led to a long pass completion to Will Black, but facing a fourth and eight at the 10-yard line, Lincoln Reutzel stepped in front of Taholo to finally end the game.