High school football: Defense helps 'Diggers defeat Vikings

SANDY — The Jordan Beetdiggers are a team mostly known for their offense. But it was the defense that came through Friday night.

Quarterback McCoy Hill had his usual good game, passing for 225 yards and scoring the deciding touchdown on a highlight-reel run. However, the play that will be remembered is Jaden DeWolf's fumble recovery with 1:40 left that sealed the 27-21 win.

"It was a great high school football game," said Pleasant Grove coach Dale Sampson afterward.

Most everyone would have had to agree. With the win, Jordan, Pleasant Grove and Alta moved into a tie for second place with 2-1 records and the Beetdiggers have a chance to put themselves into an even better position if they can win at Lone Peak next week.

"There's still a lot of football left to play, but we're right in there," said Jordan coach Eric Kjar. "We didn't handle the pressure well at times tonight, but our defense made the big play when we needed it."

This was a winnable game for both teams. Jordan led the entire game, but couldn't put the Vikings away and seemed to be self-destructing. Trailing 27-21, Pleasant Grove took possession near midfield and had the momentum after a personal-foul penalty on the 'Diggers.

Facing second-and-3 at Jordan's 36-yard line, quarterback Zach Christensen fumbled and DeWolf emerged from the bottom of the pile with the football, helping give Jordan its first win over Pleasant Grove in seven tries.

"We were confused and probably should have called timeout," said Sampson, describing the play. "We were just trying to get a first down."

Sadly, the game was decided by a turnover when there were so many good plays before.

The biggest — and easily the best — was Hill's 37-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave Jordan a 27-14 lead. The 6-foot-5 senior broke several tackles and then celebrated with his teammates in the end zone. It turned out the celebration was a good idea because it resulted in the deciding points.

Hill completed 17 of 32 passes for 244 yards — below average for him. His favorite targets were Taylor Loomis and Taylor Dean, who combined for 15 of those receptions. Hill, however, had a few passes dropped, and Sampson said Pleasant Grove's defense was designed to prevent the big play.

The Beetdiggers, however, also had a decent running game. Hill had 109 of the team's 166 yards on the ground by himself.

Pleasant Grove's offense was highlighted by Christensen, who made several big completions that kept drives going. He threw for just 121 yards and had a touchdown throw to McKay Madsen, who somehow got the ball away from a Jordan defender that cut the margin to 17-14 at halftime.

The Pleasant Grove punter also had an impressive night, punting five times with a 47.6 yard average, including a 60-yarder.