High school football: Rare Riverton kick helps beat Cavemen

AMERICAN FORK — Field goal kicking wasn't one of Riverton's strengths on Wednesday night — except when it mattered the most.

Opting to go for it on fourth down for most of the night — including a fourth-and-3 inside the 10-yard line — the Silverwolves kicked a 31-yarder with seven minutes left to beat American Fork, 22-21.

For the game-winner, Riverton (5-5, 3-2 in Region 4) went with sophomore kicker Brady Slack, who nailed the kick to clinch the Region 4 No. 3 seed for his team in the last game of the regular season.

"He's a good kid," Riverton head coach Mike Miller said of Slack. "I'm excited to see what he might be able to do."

Offense was at a premium in the first half, as the teams traded touchdowns before halftime. The Silverwolves got on the board first as Joey Jenson busted up the middle for a five-yard scoring run.

American Fork (5-5, 2-3 in Region 4) countered in the second quarter with a seven-yard quarterback keeper touchdown run from B.J. Eldredge.

Dallin Lindsey kept things going for the Cavemen with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to put the home team up 14-7.

In between a pair of 57-yard touchdown passes by Preston Young — to Stratton Brown and Taylor Stirland, respectively — Lindsey added a 53-yard TD reception from Tyler Brimhall to temporarily give American Fork the lead.

Slack's field goal was set up by a successful fake punt, as Jenson easily ran for a first down and a lot more all the way down to the Caveman 20-yard line.

"It was the right situation for it," Miller said, discussing the fake punt. "We've practiced that a lot, and it presented itself and we decided to go for it."

Young finished the game 4-of-8 with 131 yards and the two touchdowns. Riverton defensive players Uloiseni Kinikini and Dallin Munger each came up with a fumble recovery.