5A high school football: Pleasant Grove capitalizes on opportunities

RIVERTON — Playoff time is prime time for opportunism. On a frigid Friday evening in south Salt Lake County, Pleasant Grove was a little more opportunistic than its foe in the first round of 5A postseason football.

The Vikings turned two interceptions into touchdowns during a stalemate first half, then stuffed Riverton during a second-half goal-line stand. From there, the Region 4 No. 3-seed Vikings pulled away en route to eliminating the Region 3 second-seed Silverwolves from postseason play, 36-21.

After taking a 21-20 cushion into halftime, Riverton was poised to widen the margin early in the third period. After stuffing the Vikings' fake punt on fourth-and-long, the Silverwolves took over within 25 yards of the end zone. A 15-yard scamper by Faaitua Laei (201 all-purpose yards, one touchdown) set up Riverton with first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.

First down: short run. Second down: sack. Third down: back to the original line of scrimmage on another short run. Fourth down: incomplete pass.

"Our defense just sucked it up," said Pleasant Grove running back Jeff Harris, who romped for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. "PG's famous for goal-line stands. It was nice to get one in a big game like this."

On their ensuing possession, the Vikings marched 95 yards on a mere five plays, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Harris. The Silverwolves never recovered, stalling on their next two drives and turning the ball over on their last two possessions. Pleasant Grove, on the other hand, slowly snuck away, adding a 28-yard field goal by Winston Sorhaitz midway through the final period, then slamming the door on Riverton's outside hopes of a comeback by converting fourth-and-four on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Donny Lewis to D.J. Doman.

Riverton escaped the first half with the lead in spite of two costly errors. With about four minutes left in the second quarter, Doman intercepted Riverton quarterback Eric Thoreson at the 44-yard line and darted all the way to the end zone. Thoreson was picked off on Riverton's second play of the ensuing drive, as well, which set up a nine-yard touchdown run by Harris.