Cavemen stave off late Bulldog comeback

AMERICAN FORK — The Cavemen ran out to a 21-point first quarter lead, but the Provo Bulldogs didn't let themselves get down and fought back for the final 18 points of the contest to make the game a closer-than-expected 21-18 victory for American Fork.

"Once again we're glad to win a football game," said American Fork coach Davis Knight. "You have to be complimentary of a team that fights like that," he said of the Provo squad that found themselves down early but would not bow out.

The Cavemen scored on their first drive of the contest in a 33-second, three-play drive, which ended in a five-yard touchdown run by American Fork running back Brandon Stucki. He pounded in the touchdown after running the ball 40 yards one play earlier.

American Fork's second drive of the game took a little longer, about three and a half minutes, but once again ended in a 13-yard touchdown run by quarterback James Moore.

Less than a minute and a half later, after an interception by Devin Wilson, Moore scored again, this time from 15 yards out, and the Bahoravitch extra point was good, giving the Cavemen a nearly insurmountable lead by the end of the first quarter.

After completely controlling the first 12 minutes, and not allowing Provo to enter American Fork territory once, the Cavemen started to unravel in the second, and the Bulldogs got the better of them the rest of the game. Provo quarterback P.K. Haws backed up into the shotgun, and the Bulldogs started running the ball up the middle with great success against the American Fork defense.

After steady gains through the first drive of the second quarter, the Bulldogs finally scored with five minutes to go in the half on a two-yard touchdown run by Chayse Davis, but the two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Bulldogs with more than a two-touchdown deficit.

But Provo wasn't finished. Lorenzo Dudley picked off a pass by Moore with 33 seconds left before halftime and ran the ball back to the American Fork 21-yard line, where Haws stepped up and threw the touchdown pass to Kyle Fitzgerald to cut the lead to 21-12 when the buzzer sent the game into the second half.

"It wasn't very well played," acknowledged American Fork coach Davis Knight. "This time of the year with all the penalties—I'm going to look at film before I can comment."