High school football: Bountiful grinds out victory over visiting Logan

BOUNTIFUL — It was nothing short of a typical Bountiful High football game Friday night.

The Braves relied on a methodical rushing attack and hinged their success on a swarming defense to pick up a 17-7 win against Logan and improve to 2-1 on the season.

It didn't take long for the Braves to find a groove offensively. After forcing a Grizzlies punt on the opening series, Bountiful took over on its own 37-yard line. Quarterback Cam Zollinger then led a 13-play scoring drive that ended when he found pay dirt on a one-yard quarterback plunge to put the Braves up 7-0 with 2:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Things looked to be getting out of control in the following series when Logan quarterback Luke Falk threw a telegraphed pass that Zollinger jumped to set the Braves up with another scoring opportunity at the Logan 15-yard line.

However, on the next play, the Grizzlies received a gift-wrapped present when Zollinger threw an errant pass to the corner of the end zone that landed in the welcoming arms of Logan's Carter Watts.

"We had that turnover and we thought we could have come out and buried them, but then we were in a fight," said Bountiful coach Larry Wall. "I was proud of the (offense) in the opening series, we came out and executed."

The rest of the half fell in favor of the Braves' desired tempo and featured multiple miscues and penalties from both teams. Midway through the second quarter, Logan's other signal-caller, DJ Nelson, scrambled out of the pocket and tossed a prayer that was nearly intercepted but miraculously found its way to Jimmy Stephens, who scampered into the end-zone. The touchdown was later negated by an illegal man downfield — forcing the Grizzlies to punt.

Late in the second half, Bountiful once again embarked on a sustained drive behind running back David Coffman. The senior rushed four straight times for 37 yards, setting up a play-action pass. With the box stacked, Zollinger faked the handoff and tossed a floater intended for Dillon Salazar, but the ball ricocheted off his hands into the arms of teammate Tyler Poppe, who scooted into the end zone to put the Braves up 14-0 with 38 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Braves' defense was relentless the entire night, but Logan's poison was an inability to catch the football. The Grizzlies struggled to cross midfield due to numerous dropped passes, including seven in a three-series span.

"We corralled (DJ Nelson) and didn't let him get out and run wild on us," Wall said. "We were concerned with (his running ability) from the start. Our secondary did a really nice job, I thought, of keeping everyone in front. We played good D."

With two minutes remaining, Nelson found the end zone from one yard out to cut the score to 14-6. Bountiful later added a 27-yard field goal by Jason Holmes after Teau Satuala broke loose for 50 yards to the Logan 11-yard line.

e-mail: tphibbs@desnews.com