The Park City Miners and Timpanogos Timberwolves squared off in a 4A quarterfinals matchup on Friday night at Dozier Field. The Miners saw a big third quarter lead evaporate, but forced a late turnover that sealed the win as they advanced to the semifinals.
Park City used a strong rushing attack to build a 21-0 lead behind touchdowns from Sebastian Bodily, Eli Warner, and Carson Navarro. Meanwhile, their “bend but don’t break” defense held the Timberwolves scoreless for almost three quarters. Timpanogos, who entered the contest averaging over 38 points per game, finally scored their first points with 2:45 left in the third quarter. That was quickly followed by a second touchdown less than a minute later, closing the score to 21-14.
After a fourth quarter field goal made the score 21-17, the Miners cushioned their lead with a long touchdown drive. However, the high-powered Timpanogos offense immediately struck back to close within 28-24. Unable to move the ball, the Miners were forced to punt with under two minutes remaining.
The Timberwolves quickly found their way inside the Miners’ 10-yard line. T-Wolves quarterback Chase Riggs was seemingly headed for the endzone, and the lead, when the Miners’ Owen Tabaracci met him at the 2-yard line and forced a fumble with 54 seconds remaining. Tabaracci came away with the recovery and sealed the win.
The Miners will next face the Green Canyon Wolves in the 4A semifinals on Thursday, November 9 at 6 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium. KPCW will broadcast the game live.
The South Summit Wildcats knocked off the Layton Christian Eagles 17-14 in a 2A semifinal game on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 14-0 at halftime, the Wildcats tied the game on two third quarter touchdown passes while the defense forced turnovers on every Eagles second half possession. A fourth quarter field goal provided the final score.
The Wildcats will face the No. 1 seed San Juan Broncos for the 2A championship on Saturday, November 11 at 4 p.m. The game will be played at Southern Utah University.
