WASHINGTON TERRACE — Sage Stireman feels every punt is important.

But in Friday night's win over Sky View, the Bonneville punter knew his kick with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter was key.

"I knew it had to be big," he said after the Lakers defeated Sky View 21-18. "When I saw it go up, I knew it was trouble. Those are tough to catch."

It was so tough, the ball went through the hands of a Sky View player and senior Nick Wilson was able to jump on the ball and ensure the Lakers would hold on to win the thriller. The Lakers were able to hand the Bobcats their first region loss behind some solid defensive plays, especially when it mattered most.

Sky View struck first with a field goal, but then Bonneville's defense delivered. First Sebastian Lawson recovered a fumble about two minutes into the second quarter to give the Lakers the ball. The offense used up nearly six minutes and finished by scoring on a nine-yard run by Chase Shaw.

Three plays later, Connor Stephens intercepted a pass and ran 25-yards for a touchdown.

"We've been trying to allow him to focus on defense," said Williams. "But he's also a great receiver and we used him some on offense."

Despite controlling the clock extremely well, Williams wished his offense could have been on the field even longer.

"(Sky View) had it too much for my liking," he said with a smile. "Our defense did a great job."

One of the reasons Williams was relieved to see his own offense on the field was that meant Sky View quarterback Kyler Carlsen wasn't on the field. With a 21-3 lead and six minutes left in the game, it appeared the game was out of reach to everyone was the Bobcats.

Sky View's offense managed two touchdowns, an on-side kick recovery and a two-point conversion in about three minutes.