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FARMINGTON — Under the bright lights in Farmington, the Phoenix welcomed the Pleasant Grove Vikings to their home field.
The two teams met up last season in the season-opener, and Farmington, who was picked as the preseason favorite in Region 1, came away with a 19-14 win.
This year's bout looked quite a bit different as Pleasant Grove claimed an 18-0 road victory.
The Vikings, who finished last season with a 6-6 record, took charge early. With just over six minutes left in the first quarter, the Vikings found themselves within striking distance in Farmington territory. Junior transfer quarterback Carson Rassmussen found senior Bronco Winterton on a 3-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings on the board first.
Pleasant Grove's quick offense continued to keep the Phoenix defense on their heels, and Rassmussen got into the end zone on an 8-yard carry with just 17 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter.
While the Vikings offense was free-flowing, Farmington struggled to find a scoring rhythm and finished the opening frame down 12-0.
Out of the halftime break, the Phoenix got their offense moving a bit, but the Vikings defense came up with stop after stop to keep the shutout alive.
Late in the third quarter, Farmington safety Austin Wilcox intercepted a pass from Rassmussen to give the Phoenix life, but again, the Pleasant Grove defense gave the home team enough trouble to stop them from getting on the board.
In the final frame of Friday's opener, Farmington quarterback Easton Wight stretched the field and attempted longer passes, which proved successful to move the chains. The Vikings looked a bit tired closing out the game with only 65 players on the roster, which forced many athletes to play both sides of the ball. That gave the Phoenix some momentum, but it wasn't enough to get back into the picture.
The Vikings travel home to face Weber next week, while Farmington attempts a tough slate against Bountiful, Skyridge and Corner Canyon over the next few weeks.
