The Salem Hills football team outscored Provo 19-7 in the second half — but unfortunately for the Skyhawks, they got blitzed 28-0 in the first half as the Bulldogs rolled to a 35-19 Region 9 win on homecoming Friday night.

The end of the first half was particularly exhilarating for Provo and dreadful for Salem Hills.

Leading 7-0, Provo capitalized on two Skyhawk turnovers and scored 21 points with two touchdowns coming in the last 32 seconds of the quarter.

After Tagai Lesa crossed the goal line twice from four yards out to give Provo a 14-0 lead, Sosai Hifo secured an interception and brought the ball back to midfield. This set up another scoring drive for the Bulldogs as Tomasi Hifo hauled in a 35-yard pass from Kyson Condie to push Provo out in front 21-0 with 32 seconds remaining before halftime.

But Salem Hills was a victim of its own success as Jed Hughes ripped off a 19-yard run to move the ball to the 39-yard line. The Skyhawk coaches then decided to try to move the ball through the air instead of running out the clock and Lesa made Salem Hills pay with an interception at midfield which he returned to the Skyhawk 15-yard line with just six seconds left in the half.

This gave Provo one last chance to score and Provo head coach Kirk Chambers decided to run a play versus kicking a field goal. Condie found Drew Deuscher in the back of the end zone and after Moses Vaenuku kicked his fourth successful extra point, Provo led 28-0.

“I just dropped back and I saw the slant coming right behind it and I just jumped it,” said Lesa of his interception.

Salem Hills showed some fight coming out of the locker room and marching the length of the field to score. Roger Kay’s 3-yard run cut the Provo lead to 28-7. Then after stopping Provo on its first possession of the second half, Salem Hills scored again when Jackson Nelson connected with Alex Cloward on a 8-yard score. The extra point was missed leaving Provo out in front 28-13.

But Provo righted itself for another drive and Deucher’s spectacular diving catch for a 10-yard touchdown reception early in the final stanza basically put the game away for the Bulldogs.

Salem Hills did get one last score with just over one minute remaining as Dagen Gammell hauled in a 30-yarder from Nelson.

Though the second half wasn’t sparkling for the Bulldogs, Chambers was very happy with the overall performance and the domination his team showed in the first half.

“We got some turnovers at timely spots and turned them into points,” Chambers said. “We were able to run and complete some passes. Kyson (Condie) was confident about his ability to complete some passes and we got the ball into the hands of our playmakers like Drew Deucher and of course Jamison (Harward). And our offensive line dominated up front. It was a great combination.”

Provo was so dominant in controlling the ball that it ran 44 plays in the first half where Salem Hills had just 11 offensive plays.

Chambers also was impressed with the defensive effort which really limited Salem Hills and created those two critical turnovers.

“Our defense came up with a shutout in the first half and that was huge for us,” the Bulldog head coach said.

Chambers specifically works with the offensive line and one of those lineman is Paxton McGinn, who gave a game effort playing with a hand completely wrapped.

“We just wanted to absolutely establish the run first and we wear them down with our passes and just crush them,” said McGinn.

Provo (5-3, 2-2) will have its last game of the regular season next week as it hosts Wasatch (3-5, 2-2) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Meanwhile Salem Hills (2-6, 1-3) will close out league play by hosting Springville (7-1, 4-0), also on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Score by Quarter

SH 0 0 13 6 – 19

P 7 21 0 7 – 35

Scoring Summary

P-Tagai Lesa 4 run (Moses Vaenuku kick)

P-Lesa 4 run (Vaenuku kick)

P-Sosaia HIfo 15 pass from Kyson Condie (Vaenuku kick)

P-Drew Deucher 15 pass from Condie (Vaenuku kick)

SH-Roger Kay 3 run (Cayden Bowers kick)

SH-Alex Cloward 8 pass from Jackson Nelson (kick failed)

P-Deucher 10 pass from Condie (Vaenuku kick)

SH-Dagen Gammell 30 pass from Nelson (kick failed)

Brian E. Preece, Herald correspondent

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