4A high school: Woods Cross snaps Provo defense to move on

PROVO — The bend-but-don't-break defense of the Provo Bulldogs bent like a dry reed, snapping to the tune of a 35-20 beatdown dished out by the Woods Cross Wildcats in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Friday afternoon.

The Wildcats' backfield pounded the ball all game long, and quarterback Tyler Parson found his receivers when necessary in directing the Woods Cross offense in the win.

"I'm happy as heck to get the win," said Woods Cross coach Fred Fernandes. "We feel real good about it, but we have a lot of things to clean up if we want to compete with Springville next week."

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 21-0 lead thanks to a 20-yard touchdown pass from Parson to Tanner Johnson late in the first quarter. The touchdown came after the Provo defense forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession and intercepted a Parson pass later in the quarter.

But with Provo unable to capitalize offensively, Woods Cross took the early lead.

Woods Cross (4-2, 7-3) attained a two-touchdown lead behind CJ Corry's one-yard run into the end zone after a meticulous offensive drive. The Wildcats struck again in the second quarter when John Kendrick intercepted a Matt Griner pass and ran it back 30 yards for a touchdown, giving Woods Cross the commanding 21-0 lead.

Provo (5-1, 8-3) finally struck back late in the first half on a drive kept alive by fourth-down conversions, the most notable coming as Griner found receiver Seth Rhineer for the 24-yard touchdown reception.

A Woods Cross fumble prior to halftime gave the Bulldogs an ample opportunity to cut the lead down heading into the break. Provo recovered the fumble on the Wildcat 23-yard line with 10 seconds remaining in the half. Unfortunately for Bulldog fans, Provo couldn't convert and trailed 21-7 after one half of play.

The second half started with a bang for the Bulldogs as Maka Unufe returned the kickoff into Wildcat territory. Unife eventually punched it into the end zone from one-yard out to carve the lead to 21-14. However, every time the Bulldogs got any momentum Woods Cross countered with a play of its own. Parson provided that play for the Wildcats when he hooked up with Parker Rose on a 17-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 28-14.

Woods Cross finally let the wind out of the Bulldog sails when Adam Hales picked off a Griner pass and scampered 90 yards for the score. The return by Hales gave Woods Cross a 35-14 lead late in the fourth quarter and all but capped the win for the Wildcats.

"Hales made a great interception return on defense," added Fernandes. " And offensively our big guns didn't do a whole lot, but they were consistent enough to make plays."