BY SHAIN GILLET
Clipper Sports Editor
BOUNTIFUL — Of the three local high school football teams remaining in the 4A and 5A playoffs, only Woods Cross will be at home.
And it will likely be one of the toughest games for the Wildcats to face, as Timpview heads to Curtis Field Friday night in the 4A quarterfinals.
The Bountiful Braves and Davis Darts, winners over Skyline and Kearns last week, will both hit the road Friday night as they prepare to take on Mountain Crest and Lone Peak, respectively.
The Wildcats obtained a No. 1 seed after the decision by the Utah High School Acitivities Association to drop East to a No. 4 seed gave Woods Cross the home field advantage through the quarterfinals. After a 35-0 drubbing of Westlake opened up its first home playoff game in more than a decade, the Wildcats welcome another team that should be a No. 1 seed, Timpview.
The Thunderbirds’ were punished by the Utah High School Activities Association, and are the No. 3 seed in Region 8.
Both teams will be heading into Friday’s game with strong offenses. Woods Cross is averaging 30 points per game and has the best scoring defense in 4A by allowing 11 points per game.
Bountiful’s trip to Mountain Crest will pit a pair of 9-2 teams together. The Mustangs obtaining the No. 1 seed in Region 5.
The Braves have turned into a running machine in the past couple of games. Jakob Hunt, Leka Nepote and others have carried the load for Bountiful in the backfield.
With injuries to both the staring and second-string quarterback, the Braves have turned their offense over to Taylor Holman, who has done well in his appearances so far.
With a limited amount of throws in his three appearances, the senior still has three touchdown passes for the Braves, including a 17-yard score in Bountiful’s 35-6 win over Skyline.
Davis’ road to the finals will continue to be on the road as they head to Lone Peak to take on the defending 5A champion Knights. Last week the Darts played a pair of games in a four-day span and outscored the opposition 23-16 and 38-0.
So far, the team’s offense and defense have come together, and coach Ryan Bishop said after the team’s win over Layton that Davis “has gotten on a roll at the right time.”
That roll continued with Kearns as the defense pitched a shutout and Gage Cook threw for five touchdowns.
Lone Peak’s win over Brighton was the sixth game that saw the final score dictate the winner by one touchdown or less. The Knights were 3-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less during the regular season, and picked up the win over the Bengals in the closing minutes of last week’s opening round game.
Despite having a target on its back, Lone Peak isn’t the offense it was when it won the 5A title last season. In 2011 the Knights averaged nearly 40 points per game while finishing 14-0. This season, the team is averaging 26 points per game and has losses to Bountiful, Pleasant Grove and Timpview.
The Timpview loss was among those overturned by the UHSAA due to eligibility issues.
Woods Cross’ game will kick off at 3 p.m. Bountiful’s and Davis’ games will both kick off at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Brackets can be downloaded at uhsaa.org.
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