No. 4 Skyridge Upsets No. 1 American Fork To Reach 6A Championship Game
Nov 10, 2023, 2:02 PM | Updated: 2:04 pm
American Fork Cavemen vs. Skyridge Falcons in the 6A semifinals on November 10, 2023 (Photo by KSL Sports)
(Photo by KSL Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 seeded Skyridge Falcons upset the No. 1 American Fork Cavemen to advance from the semifinals to the 6A championship game.
Skyridge beats American Fork in semifinals
The Cavemen and Falcons played in the 6A semifinal round at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the Utah Utes, on Friday, November 10.
RELATED: Skyridge High Football Coach Suspended For Remainder Of Playoffs
Skyridge beat American Fork, 34-21.
The Falcons beat the Cavemen and will have a chance to defend their 6A title.
FINAL @skyridgefb 34@cavemanfootball 21
Read more about Skyridge's semifinal win:#GameNightLive #KSLGameNight @KSLSportsRewind @JeremiahJensen @SSylvester55 @mariluzcook https://t.co/TcRokxyJPd
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 10, 2023
The Cavemen worked their way to midfield on the opening drive of the game before the Falcons forced a punt.
Skyridge muffed the punt but managed to hop back on the football to start their first possession of the game. Like the Cavemen, the Falcons ended their first drive with a punt.
American Fork’s second drive ended like its first, a punt to Skyridge.
With 4:04 remaining in the first quarter, Falcons quarterback Jackson Stevens hit Trent Call for a touchdown and the game’s first points. The Stevens-Call connection gave Skyridge a 7-0 lead.
The Falcons lead by a score after the first 12 minutes.
End 1Q @skyridgefb 7 @cavemanfootball 0
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— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 10, 2023
Near the end of the opening quarter, the Cavemen punted the ball back to the Falcons, who took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
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After stopping the Falcons’ offense, American Fork drove down the field before attempting a short field that wasn’t on target. The Falcons took over inside their own 20-yard line with 9:15 to go until halftime.
A little over a minute later, Stevens unloaded a deep pass down the middle. Steven’s pass was picked off by American Fork’s Wade Stringam with 8:02 left in the quarter.
Unfortunately for the Cavemen, they were unable to take advantage of the turnover and Stevens’ interception ended up doing no harm to Skyridge as American Fork punted once again.
With 45 seconds remaining in the first half, Stevens hit Laa Kalama for a 20-yard touchdown to stretch Skyridge’s lead to 14-0.
17 seconds after the Falcons’ touchdown, American Fork’s Dylan Story was picked off down the far sideline by Skyridge’s Tavian Edwards.
On the next play, Steven hit Kalama for the duo’s second touchdown connection. Skyridge’s extra-point kick was blocked but the Falcons took a 20-0 lead following the turnover by the Cavemen.
The Falcons extend their lead with a pair of touchdowns by @JStevens_11 and @laa_kalama in the final 45 seconds of the first half.
HALFTIME @skyridgefb 20@cavemanfootball 0
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— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 10, 2023
The Falcons picked up where they left off to start the second half.
Skyridge methodically worked its way down the field before Stevens hit Kalama for the third touchdown pass and catch between the players. The score pushed Skyridge’s lead to 27-0 with 7:59 remaining in the third quarter.
With 2:08 to go in the third quarter, the Cavemen found their first points of the game on a touchdown pass from Story to Landon Payne. American Fork went for two following a pair of offside penalties by the Falcons. Dax Watts crossed the goal line for a successful two-point conversion. The score cut Skyridge’s lead to 27-8.
12 minutes left to play at RES.
End 3Q @skyridgefb 27 @cavemanfootball 8
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— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 10, 2023
Early in the final quarter, the Cavemen moved quickly toward the end zone before Story found Cade Wilkinson for American Fork’s second score of the game. The Cavemen were unsuccessful on a subsequent two-point attempt. However, the touchdown gave the Cavemen 14 unanswered points and trimmed Skyridge’s lead to 27-14.
The Falcons responded with another dominant drive to stop the run by the Cavemen. With 8:49 left to play, Stevens connected with Jack Burke for a Falcon touchdown. The score gave Skyridge a 34-14 lead.
With 5:57 left to play, the Cavemen scored another touchdown on a pass from Story to Jett Nelson. The touchdown cut Skyridge’s lead to two scores at 34-21.
Following a punt by the Falcons, the Cavemen were unable to convert on a fourth down. The play resulted in a turnover on downs and Skyridge took over near midfield with a few minutes remaining on the game clock.
In the closing seconds, Edwards picked off Story for the second time to seal the Falcons’ win.
Up next for Skyridge football
With the win, the Skyridge advanced to the 6A state title game. Skyridge improved its record to 11-2 with the victory. American Fork finished its season with an 11-2 record.
The Falcons will play the winner of the other semifinal matchup between the No. 2 Corner Canyon Chargers and No. 3 Lehi Pioneers. The Chargers and Pioneers will play for the final spot in the title game on November 10 at 2:30 p.m. (MT).
The 6A championship game will take place at Rice-Eccles Stadium on November 17 at 2:30 p.m. The title game will be broadcast on KSLSports.com and the KSL Sports app.
