T-Birds shut down Bruins

OREM — The coaches draft out the game plan and then it's up to the players to carry it out.

In rolling over the Mountain View Bruins 38-3 in the Class 4A football quarterfinals Friday afternoon, both the Timpview Thunderbirds players and coaches couldn't have fulfilled their parts much better. It was clear that the T-Birds had done their homework. They moved the ball both on the ground and through the air almost at will and shut down the Bruins' bread-and-butter offensive plays.

Timpview coach Chad Van Orden said his players, now headed to a semifinal matchup next week against fellow power Highland, were focused and prepared. They executed the game plan to near perfection.

"There were times when (the Bruins) were running plays and we were there so quick that they couldn't go anywhere," Van Orden said.

The final stats, more so than the score, showed Timpview's domination. The T-Birds amassed 558 yards of total offense, almost 400 yards of which came in the first two quarters when Timpview built up a 31-3 lead. Quarterback Stephen Covey threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 117 yards. Luke Ashworth caught eight passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns, with Harvey Unga rushing for 68 yards and two scores.

"It's tough to stop their offense," Mountain View coach Doug Meek said. "They've got so many weapons and their offensive line is a freaking college offense line, so what do you do?"

Meanwhile, the T-Birds held the Bruins to 123 total yards. Mountain View had minus-4 yards rushing in the second half, nine yards for the game and only 11 total yards in the final two quarters. Neutralizing Mountain View quarterback Don Lovelace was the key.

"He's a heck of a player and we've watched him make play after play, but we just didn't let him get going today," Van Orden said.

When you're the underdog, you also can't waste scoring opportunities and have a realistic expectation to win. Mountain View, despite forcing two early Timpview turnovers, had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Brandon Black on three early scoring chances. The Bruins coughed the ball up twice in the red zone in the first half.

"We knew going in this was probably the best team we were going to see and we'd have to take advantage of any breaks we got. But we didn't take care of it," Meek said.