The Hive Sports

by James Tate

According to the 5A MaxPreps rankings, Thursday night’s football matchup featured the fourth-ranked Bountiful Redhawks (3-0) and the ninth-ranked Olympus Titans (1-2).

The Bountiful Redhawks dominated the first half of the game and survived a spirited comeback by the Olympus Titans in the second half. Redhawks kicker Landon Zayas was ready for his moment and booted a game-winning 25-yard field with two seconds remaining to give the Redhawks a 25-22 win.

“The field goal at the end was a cool moment to be a part of,” Zayas said. “It was exciting and nerve-racking knowing that the game came down to that kick. My coach told me that I had done this thousands of times before, and it was just another kick. When I was lining up the kick, I felt excited. Once it got snapped, I put my foot through the ball and watched it fly through, and I saw the sideline erupt, and that was by far the coolest experience I have ever had in football.”

This game was a rematch from last season, in which the Titans won 13-10 on their home field, but the Redhawks came away with a three-point victory this time. Both teams had ups and downs, played hard-nosed defense, and had big momentum-changing plays on offense. But the ending came down to special teams and Zayas, one of the state’s most accurate and clutch kickers.

Emerson Geilman

First half

The Redhawks would start the scoring with Zayas converting on a 22-yard field goal with 4:13 in the first quarter. The 70-yard opening Redhawks drive took 6:29 and ended with Zayas’ field goal to give the Redhawks an early 3-0 lead. The key play on the drive was a pass completion from Redhawks quarterback Emerson Geilman to receiver Beau Burningham deep into Titans territory.

The Titans’ next offensive series resulted in a fourth-down punt attempt, but the snap sailed over the head of Titans punter Asher Gubler. Gubler recovered the ball in the end zone for a safety. With 2:17 on the clock in the first quarter, the score stood at 5-0 in favor of the Redhawks.

The second quarter scoring started with Geilman scoring the first touchdown of the game with a 10-yard run to give the Redhawks a 12-0 lead with 7:44 on the clock. The defense set up the score by forcing a short punt that gave the Redhawks an excellent starting field position near midfield. Geilman completed a pivotal pass to Brock McSwain on the drive that moved the ball deep inside Titans’ territory during the drive.

Justice Taufa (l), Caleb Norris (m), and Dawson Allsop (r)

On the Titans’ next offensive possession, the offense still could not move the ball on the Redhawks and punted on fourth down. The Redhawks’ defense, led by a sack by Caleb Norris, set their offense up in excellent field position again for their next drive.

The Redhawks ended their drive with a 9-yard screen pass from Geilman to running back Siaki Fekitoa. The score stood at 19-0 with 2:40 left before halftime. Before halftime, the Titans made a change at quarterback and brought in Max Rice on their next offensive possession. Rice led the Titans down the field and into a long field goal attempt that was missed wide right.

Second half

After a slow start and being shut out in the first half, the Titans turned the offense over to senior Max Rice, and the game turned in the second half. The Titans’ offense found its rhythm, looked energized, and played with a winning mindset. Besides an early third-quarter deep pass from Geilman to Brock McSwain, the Titans’ defense played with toughness and held the Redhawks to only three second-half points. The third quarter was scoreless until Zayas made a 22-yard field goal to put the Redhawks up 22-0.

The fourth quarter started the Titans’ comeback, as Rice found wide receiver Caden Lloyd wide-open in the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown pass. The Titans’ first touchdown scored 22-7, giving them momentum in the final quarter.

Rice continued his outstanding play, moving in the pocket to keep plays alive and finding his receivers. The next Titans touchdown came with 8:36 left in the game on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Nelson. After this touchdown, the Titans cut the Redhawks lead to 22-14. As the Titan’s defense held the Redhawk’s offense out of the end zone, the game was tied at 3:08 when Rice again found Nelson. This third touchdown pass of the game for Rice covered 10 yards, and the two-point try was successful, tying the score 22-22.

With the game on the line, the Redhawks offense started its drive, getting big runs from Dawson Allsop and Zeke Murdock and a long reception by Connor Clark. The offensive line, led by Brian Bushman, Paxton Gibson, Bryan Socci, Will Nixon, and Ethan Higginson, created running lanes and gave Geilman time.

“We went into that drive with the mindset of needing to score no matter what,” Nixon said. “So we all went out there and put it all on the line to prove that we can handle adversity.”

The winning drive was capped off by Zayas’ 25-yard field goal, which moved the Redhawks past the Titans 25-22 and gave them a 3-0 record.

photo courtesy of Lesli Groves

Outstanding performances

Redhawks

Landon Zayas’ three field goals, including his game-winner, proved to be the difference in the game. Zayas scored 11 points.

The Redhawks defense was stout in the first half, holding the Titans offense without a point, but it struggled in the second half to stop Rice from scrambling and finding receivers.

“We had a great first half, driving on offense and holding them on defense,” said Redhawks safety Winston Robinson. “In the second half, we were ahead by three possessions, which got to our heads, and we settled. We had stuff to clean up on both sides of the ball, and when we got down to the game being tied, we flipped a switch and knew we needed to finish. Our offense pulled it together and got us into a winning position.”

Titans

The spark Rice brought to the team and Titans’ crowd was remarkable. Rice finished with three touchdown passes, making this game an exciting contest. Nelson caught two of Rice’s touchdown passes.

On defense, the Titans received outstanding play from Ryder Birdsley, Nate Sheets, Sam Toronto, Adam Bywater, and James Schlendorf. Schlendorf, a recent commit to Bucknell University, played an excellent game at his free safety position and as a kickoff and punt returner.