Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
LEHI — There's never a dull moment between Pleasant Grove and Skyridge.
Just 28 days after the Vikings scored an overtime upset over the Falcons, the defending state champions struck back Friday night to mount an improbable 37-30 comeback effort in the 6A quarterfinals.
"It doesn't matter if it's 3-0 or 50-49, a win is a win," Skyridge head coach Justin Hemm said. "We had a lot of tough, adverse situations, but the boys stayed in it. The defense kept us in the game and gave us a chance down the stretch to do what we needed to do."
Trailing 30-13 late in the third quarter, Jackson Stevens and the Falcons rallied for two touchdowns and a field goal in the game's final 16 minutes to force overtime, where Carter Sheffield rumbled into the end zone for a 5-yard score to put Skyridge ahead for good.
On Pleasant Grove's chance to respond, the potential game-tying touchdown was batted away in the end zone by Falcons defensive back Mark Baird, clinching the Skyridge victory and igniting a raucous field storming celebration.
"I had to really focus up and do my thing there, it all comes down to technique at that point," Baird said of his clutch pass breakup. "We worked all week at practice for this, we've been waiting for this opportunity, so we just had to come back with that championship mindset and had to get it."
Baird wasn't the only Falcons defender to play hero on the night. With three seconds left in the first half, Noah Bird picked off a Carson Rasmussen pass and returned it for a 59-yard score, cutting Skyridge's halftime deficit to 16-10 and setting up the Falcons' defense for a dominant second half showing.
"It was a whole different sort of momentum or vibe going into the locker room," Hemm said of Bird's pick six. "That was something for us to build on in the second half. ... The defense was tremendous tonight."
Aside from a fumble recovered for a touchdown, the Vikings failed to post any points after halftime, setting the stage for the Falcons to rally for 24 unanswered points. Stevens connected with Jack Burke for a pair of touchdowns as well as Trevan McCllelan for an additional score. Blake Hester drilled a red zone field goal to tie the game at the end of regulation.
For Pleasant Grove, Rasmussen tossed a pair of touchdowns, Matt Morris ran for a score, and Shawn Cottle returned a fumble for six, with the Vikings forcing a second in the quarter as well.
Skyridge — finally prevailing in overtime after two such losses in the past month — now heads for a rematch with Region champs American Fork in the state semifinal next Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
"We just beat Pleasant Grove after they beat us earlier, so we've just got to do the same thing to (American Fork) now," Baird said. "That's the road to the championship."
