High school football: Salem Hills nails down state playoff spot

SALEM — The result is the same: Salem Hills is going to the playoffs.

But Josh Adams insisted it felt different. This time, he said, the Skyhawks belong there.

Adams led Salem Hills on a late scoring drive to give the Skyhawks a 29-22 Region 8 victory over Payson on Friday night.

With the win, the second-year school locked up its second-straight postseason bid.

"It's awesome," Adams said. "Last year we snuck in. This year we earned it."

Salem Hills (3-1 Region 8, 5-3 overall) is assured no worse than the No. 3 seed from Region 8 with two games — one in region — left to play.

But in two weeks, following a non-region game against American Leadership Academy, the Skyhawks will face Springville with a chance to share the region championship on the line.

"We made a whole turnaround," said defensive lineman Brandon Barlow. "We came together and worked hard over the summer. That's how we earned getting into the playoffs."

It almost didn't happen.

With Salem Hills leading 21-16 and trying to put the game away in the fourth quarter, Payson (1-3, 4-4) recovered a fumble at the Salem Hills 26-yard line.

With the momentum in their favor, the Lions marched down the field and capped the 74-yard drive when quarterback Colton Cannon found Chris Robbins in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown. The Lions' two-point conversion failed, giving them a 22-21 lead with 4:39 left.

Despite losing the fumble and having been kept out of the end zone since early in the third quarter, Adams said he wasn't nervous when the offense took the field again.

"When we had the fumble, I was like, 'What are we going to do now?' " Adams said. "But when we got back on the field, we were relaxed. We knew if we didn't score it was over."

Adams had help in the form of Jason Anderson, who broke free on the kickoff return and took it across the 50 to give the Skyhawks a short field.

Two minutes later, Adams connected with Josh Warr for a 23-yard touchdown.

Salem Hills coach Monte Morgan said the team approached the game-winning drive the same as any other — regardless of the situation or the tension.

"They didn't have to do anything different (than normal)," Morgan said. "You just have to execute and make plays."

Payson still had two minutes to try and score to force overtime, but the Skyhawks' defense held strong — led by Barlow, who sacked Cannon on third and fourth downs to seal the game.

"We saw on film that (Cannon) was a good scrambler," Barlow said. "But if we would stay in the passing lanes, we knew we could get some sacks."

Payson scored first, with Brady Lawless returning a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown.

But Salem Hills scored 21 unanswered points, taking a 21-7 lead in the third quarter when Adams found Josh Fifita in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass.