3 and Out: Provo holds off 'the best' of Springville to take control of Region 8 title race


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SPRINGVILLE — Provo quarterback Luke Haslem had three touchdown passes in the first half, and the Bulldogs had a 21-0 lead at the break against Region 8 rival Springville.

But the Bulldogs’ 28-22 win Friday night over the Red Devils was anything but easy.

“From the start, we came fast,” Haslem said. “We had a few mistakes in the second half, but we’ve got to work on that.

“It definitely boosted our confidence, early in region (play). Knowing that we can play like that against a really good team like Springville, it helps.”

But “easy” is not a word that has described this rivalry of convenience — one between two schools playing in their 77th meeting, separated by less than 12 miles.

After Haslem’s three touchdowns and Ryder MacGillivray’s two interceptions, the Red Devils — who lead the series 43-29-4 since that first meeting in 1908 — scraped, clawed and pulled out every trick in the book. Provo won last year's matchup, 24-21; prior to that night, Springville had won seven meetings in a row.

So when Provo coach Tony McGeary looked up at the scoreboard at the end of the fourth quarter, after the Red Devils (4-1, 1-1 Region 8) converted an idyllic onside kick and converted a 5-yard touchdown from Payton Murphy to his favorite target Austin Mortensen, and the score read 28-22, the veteran high school football coach was hardly surprised.

“It’s Springville,” McGeary said. “These guys fight until the end.”

Fortunately for McGeary, he’s got a couple of players with the Bulldogs, whose only loss came 13-6 at rival Timpview. Like two-way running back Dallin Havea, who scored a 5-yard touchdown with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs a 28-7 advantage. Or defensive tackle Jimmy Tomasi, who had back-to-back quarterback pressures with a sack in the fourth quarter to keep the Red Devils out of the end zone on one drive.

Provo wide receiver Taylor Heiner catches a long pass for a touchdown in front of Springville corner back Cole McAllister during football game at Springville High School on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (Photo: Steve Griffin, KSL)
Provo wide receiver Taylor Heiner catches a long pass for a touchdown in front of Springville corner back Cole McAllister during football game at Springville High School on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (Photo: Steve Griffin, KSL)

Even MacGillivray, whose biggest contribution might not have been either interception or the 12-yard touchdown he caught from Haslem in the first half, but the onside kick he recovered with less than 2 minutes left to help seal the win.

“They’ve always been a tough team,” Haslem said. “You can’t ever underestimate any team like that.”

Provo (4-1, 2-0 Region 8) is in the driver’s seat for the Region 8 title, a position typically reserved for the Red Devils but given to the Bulldogs through a vote of coaches in August, proclaiming Provo to be “preseason favorites.”

But to be the best, you have to beat the best — and that “best,” McGeary will tell you, has been Springville.

“It’s Springville. I give those guys credit. They came back hard in the second half,” McGeary said.

“We got a goal to win the region championship, and that was our goal at the beginning of the year. We had to beat these guys to be able to do that; they’ve dominated in the past. But we felt like we had a great plan going in, and I’m really proud of the guys who hung in there, worked hard, and got it done tonight.”

Here are three other results that caught our attention from Week 5 of the Utah high school football season.

Second down

Syracuse survives double OT for 41-38 win over Roy

At Roy, Bridger Hamblin scored on a 7-yard run in double overtime to help the Titans hold off the Royals.

Hamblin also had four touchdown passes, including three to Ty Burke for Syracuse, which improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in Region 1 a week after upsetting two-time defending champion Weber.

Third down

Cedar Valley makes history with 35-0 win over Ben Lomond

At Cedar Valley, Jaxson Hooley threw three touchdown passes — two of them to Jaxson Dastrup — to lead the first-year Aviators to their first win in school history.

The Fighting Scots stretched their losing skid to 28 straight games, the longest active streak in the state.

Fourth down

Beaver snaps state’s longest win streak with 41-0 win over Milford

At Beaver, Ryker Albrecht ran for three touchdowns and threw for another to help the Beavers rout the reigning 1A champion Tigers in the small-school powers' first head-to-head meeting since 2010.

Beaver won its fifth-straight against Milford and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1992.

The shutout snapped Milford’s 23-game winning streak, leaving the longest active win streak to Corner Canyon's 16 in a row.

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