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BOUNTIFUL — As the game wears on, the Bountiful Redhawks get stronger.
It's no wonder then they find themselves in a very familiar position entering the playoffs.
Behind another productive night from their powerful run game, the Redhawks finished off a share of the Region 5 title with a 38-7 pounding of crosstown rival Woods Cross Thursday night at a stormy, cold, and wet Larry Wall Stadium.
Bountiful (9-1, 6-1 5A Region 5) had to weather a 50-minute lightning delay, then fell behind early in the second quarter 7-3 after a 32-yard touchdown run by Woods Cross (6-4, 4-3 5A Region 5) running back Viliami Tapa'atoutai, but put their foot on the gas — and the ball in their star player's hands — to score the final 31 points en route to the win.
"These players are great," Bountiful head coach Jason Freckleton said. "They're very coachable, they're willing to get better, and we just focused on making improvements every week."
It certainly is a far cry from the game against Olympus, which required kicker Landon Zayas' heroics to help the Redhawks escape with the win.
And now after last Thursday's emotional road win against previously undefeated Roy, Bountiful appears to have it all figured out, especially on offense, with running back Siaki Fekitoa leading the way again with another multiple-touchdown performance.
"He's so special, and his abilities are incredible," Freckleton said. "He's not afraid to jump on the scout team and go against our defense, and he's just a fun kid who works hard; and, man, is he electric with the ball."
Fekitoa also had some help from quarterback Emerson Geilman; the senior, coming off an epic four-touchdown performance last week, rushed for two scores, including off a scramble play, that gave the Redhawks a 24-7 halftime lead.
"We don't beat our opponent on Friday, we beat them every day of the week," he said. "All of region play, we just attacked every week and didn't worry about everybody else."
It's that competitive fire that has led Bountiful on a six-game winning streak heading into the playoffs, outscoring their opponents 248-96 over that span, and putting up over 40 points in four of those games.
And Geilman said he expects that same fire to be on display in the playoffs, adding Bountiful will "fight tooth and nail" to the end.
"It's exciting where we're at and what we know we can do," Freckleton said. "Next week on the bye week, we'll focus on ourselves and get better. This is when good teams become great (in the playoffs), and we've been looking forward to this."
