4A high school football playoffs: Braves thrash mistake-prone Tigers

BOUNTIFUL — After a week that went completely against its normal weekly routine, the Bountiful football team stepped up and showed it can deal with a little adversity as the Braves thrashed visiting Orem 41-0 in the first round of the playoffs here Saturday.

"We were living in limbo for a few days, not knowing who we were going to play. And then we had to go against our normal routine and play on a Saturday," said Bountiful head coach Larry Wall. "I was very pleased with the way our guys came out and took care of business."

The Braves clearly were too much for the Tigers to handle. Bountiful controlled the ball in all facets of the game.

Offensively, Spencer Schmidt carried the ball 16 times for 92 yards and a touchdown, David Coffman rushed 12 times for 35 yards and two scores, and Teau Satuala added five carries for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Braves recorded six takeaways in the form of a fumble recovery and five interceptions. Bountiful also held the Tigers without a first down in each of their first five series and Orem only managed eight first downs in the entire game.

"We just wanted to establish ourselves and do the things we do," said Wall, who reached 200 coaching wins for the Braves with the victory.

Even on special teams, Bountiful proved far superior. After Jason Holmes had his first PAT attempt blocked, he converted on five in a row. He also kicked each of his kickoffs into the end zone, forcing touchbacks on almost every Orem possession.

"I was really proud of (Holmes)," Wall said. "That afforded us with great field position. We had them pinned deep most of the game, while we were able to take over closer to mid-field."

The rout got off to a slow start, but midway through the first quarter, it started to become clear that the Tigers were outmatched. Satuala scampered for a 37-yard touchdown on an option play for a 6-0 lead with 5:46 to play.

After forcing a three-and-out, Bountiful got the ball back and drove 51 yards in eight plays for a Coffman two-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 34 seconds left.

In the second, Cam Zollinger hit Dillon Salazar for a 49-yard touchdown strike capping a 55-yard drive, And Coffman scored again on a 1-yard run with 8:41 left in the first half to give the Braves a 27-0 halftime lead.

Salazar added a 7-yard touchdown run with 9:02 to play in the third and Schmidt's one-yard touchdown run put the mercy rule into effect with a 41-0 lead with 4:53 left in the third.

The loss sends the Tigers home, while Bountiful will host Spanish Fork, a team it beat earlier in the season, on Friday.

"Spanish Fork is a great team," Wall said. "We're going to enjoy this win tonight and then we're going to get ready for Spanish Fork."