From Deseret News archives:
Outcome determined by fake-punt fortunes
Each team took its turn rolling the dice with a risky special-teams call. The Cavemen lost on the gamble and the Knights hit the jackpot on their own call, eliminating American Fork from the playoffs on the final game of the regular season.
Early in the fourth quarter while leading 13-12, American Fork called a fake punt on a fourth-and-one from its own 22-yard line. The attempted run up the middle came up one foot short of the first-down marker, and Lone Peak used the field position to kick a go-ahead field goal with 8:40 to play.
The score was still 15-13 when Lone Peak lined up to punt from its own 36-yard line with just under 30 seconds left to play. The Knights saw that the Cavemen were bringing 10 defenders on the rush and called a fake.
A direct snap went to quarterback Steve Beck, who threw to a wide-open Ryan Viapando in the flat. Viapando had only the return man to beat and easily sprinted by for a 64-yard touchdown that iced the game.
"We knew they would be bringing everybody. It was a calculated risk," said Lone Peak coach Monty Morgan. "We came up with one more play on special teams than they did, and that was the difference in the game."
The Knights made things more difficult for themselves when they gave up a defensive touchdown on the opening possession of the game.
Beck's first pass was intercepted and returned for a 25-yard touchdown by Robbie Lusk.
Lone Peak took the lead back later in the first half on a defensive touchdown of its own. After a field goal made the score 7-3, Taft Rasmussen scooped up a Cavemen fumble and returned it 45 yards for a score.
Another field goal made it 12-7 before American Fork's only offensive score of the night came on a 24-yard pass from Taylor Jones to Matt Harward in the third quarter.
Lone Peak's signature defense gave up some scattered plays but otherwise contained American Fork while the offense — as it has in several games this season — did just enough to win.
"The defense bent, but it didn't break," said Morgan. "You don't come here and win easily. This is a tough place to play. We knew we were going to have to play for 48 minutes."
