For the first time in four years, the North Summit Braves have won a playoff game. The No. 5-ranked Braves defeated Rich 23-14 on Friday night, getting a late touchdown by Crimzon Crittenden to seize the victory. North Summit returns to action this Friday when it travels south to face No. 4 Enterprise. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The South Summit Wildcats saw their season come to an end following a 42-16 loss to host Juan Diego on Friday. The Wildcats finished the year 4-6, but did take down rival North Summit earlier in the season.
It may not seem like a long time but in the wonderful world of high school sports, four years is an eternity.
So when the North Summit Braves took the field in the UHSAA Class 2A state playoffs on Friday night, that was celebration enough considering no Brave on the field had ever made the playoffs before. But winning the game made it even much better — as No. 5 North Summit held off No. 12 Rich 23-14, advancing to the second round this Friday.
Despite having no playoff experience, North Summit showed little in the way of nerves and started the game like a seasoned veteran, jumping out to a 17-0 lead at the half.
Senior quarterback Bean Woolstenhulme got the scoring started when he hit junior running back Kale Hobson for a 20-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter.
The Braves added to that on their next drive, this time with junior quarterback Crimzon Crittenden finding junior running back Kandon Mosher from 20 yards out to make the score 14-0.
Senior kicker Carsen McKnight made the score 17-0 with a 21-yard field goal on North Summit’s ensuing drive.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the second half is where the drama began.
After neither team really got much offense going in the third quarter, North Summit began a long drive that got into Rich territory late in the third quarter. But Rich’s Konner Green returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown, making the score 17-7.
Capitalizing on that momentum, Green scored again for the Rebels midway through the fourth quarter. He caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Carrilo, making in a one score game at 17-13 midway through the fourth.
But the Braves showed great resiliency and relied on their multiple stars to put the game away.
A long drive late in the fourth quarter ended when Crittenden scored on a 2-yard run, making it 23-14 with 3:52 to play and putting the Braves into the second round.
North Summit will now travel south to face No. 4 Enterprise on Friday, Oct. 30. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Enterprise essentially got a bye after Layton Christian Academy had to pull out due to COVID-19 measures. North Summit and Enterprise have yet to meet this season.
Juan Diego 42 — South Summit 16
The No. 10 South Summit Wildcats saw their season come to an end following their 42-16 loss to No. 7 Juan Diego on Friday night in UHSAA Class 3A State playoffs.
The Wildcats fell behind big in the first half but appeared to gain momentum with a touchdown as time expired at the break. Kyler Sudweeks found Caleby Thompson from 10 yards out to make it 28-7 at the half.
Unfortunately, that was as close as South Summit would get, being outscored 14-10 in the second half en route to the loss.
Hunter Zenger kicked a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter before Sudweeks completely the scoring with a 1-yard rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
South Summit ends its season 4-6 — but it did pick up a big 12-10 victory over rival North Summit earlier in the season.