Timpanogos' second-half surge leads to win

OREM — The crosstown rivalry between Timpanogos and Orem turned out to be a defensive battle between teams that have scored a lot of points this season.

Timpanogos ended up on the winning end of a 10-6 score Wednesday night with all 10 of its points coming in the final 16 minutes of the game.

"It was a tremendous all-around game," said Timpanogos coach Ed Larson.

"We played hard defensively and give their defense a lot of credit. There's a reason they were number two all season long in the region."

Orem jumped out in front on its first possession of the game. After forcing Timpanogos to punt, Taylor Camp connected with Cole Payne for 11 yards and Quin Ringer for 49 yards before carrying the ball himself to the Timberwolves' four. Mike Mua scored from there on a run. The extra point was wide, which gave the Tigers a precarious 6-0 lead two minutes into the game.

No one would have expected that score to hold until late in the third quarter.

After recovering a fumbled pitch at their own 42, Timpanogos drove down to the Orem 16 where Morgan Dickerson carried the ball into the end zone. The extra point by Houston Brown gave the T-wolves a 7-6 lead with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers tried to respond on its next possession, but a holding call and an intentional grounding penalty left them with a fourth-and-54 in their own territory.

Timpanogos received the Orem punt at its own 24, where the T-wolves went to work on the ground primarily handing off to Max Hill who rushed for 50 yards on six carries during the drive, which stalled at the Orem 10. From there, Brown kicked the 27-yard field goal that put the T-wolves ahead 10-6 with 3:13 remaining in the game.

Orem responded with a 78-yard drive to the two with a little help from two personal fouls on Timpanogos. With 30 seconds remaining, Timpanogos brought pressure that forced Camp to throw a bad pass into the end zone where Devin Miller picked it off.

"They got it down to the two and we got some good penetration against them pretty much all night," said Larson. "We brought the pressure off the weak side and got on top of them and forced them to throw it early, and our corner was sitting there right in between. It ended up being a terrific play."

That play assured the T-wolves of a 4-3 region record, which ties them with Orem behind Timpview and Maple Mountain.