Timpview, Skyridge football ready for another shot on the biggest stage
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- Skyridge football players hold aloft the 6A state championship trophy at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, November 18, 2022,
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- Skyridge fans celebrate a big play during the 6A semifinal game against American Fork at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
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- Timpview players stand for the national anthem before the 5A semifinal game against Olympus at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
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- Timpview sophomore quarterback Helaman Casuga throws a pass in the 5A semifinal game against Olympus at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
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- Timpview players congratulate sophomore kicker Luke Thornock after he made the game-winning field goal in the 5A semifinal game against Olympus at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
When last year’s final day of high school football dawned on Nov. 18, 2022, the Timpview and Skyridge football teams hoped it would be their time to become champs.
For the Falcons, it was.
For the Thunderbirds, it wasn’t.
Skyridge beat Corner Canyon, 17-7, to win the 6A title, while Timpview lost to Lehi, 29-23, in triple overtime in the 5A championship.
Fast forward 364 days and once again, the Thunderbirds and Falcons are in the same position, getting ready to take the field for the final time in 2023 with state championships on the line.
Top-seeded Timpview comes in on a mission to get what it didn’t get last November and only No. 10-seed Bountiful stands in its way.
“We’re grateful to have another shot,” Thunderbird head coach Donny Atuaia said in a phone interview on Thursday. “We were there last year and we came up short. We can’t get rid of that feeling but we still have the opportunity to change it tomorrow. So we’re excited.”
No. 4-seed Skyridge is in the opposite position, trying to defend their crown against the No. 2-seeded Corner Canyon team who is looking for revenge for last year’s loss.
“The players had this as a goal from the offseason, to be able to get ourselves back to this point in time and to give ourselves a chance to play in this game,” Falcon acting head coach Patrick Gleaves said. “I have some players that were part of the team last year, although many were in different roles. They wanted to be able to have the same experience this year.”
Historically, Timpview has enjoyed far more success than Skyridge, although it has also been around a lot longer.
The Thunderbirds have won 11 state titles (sixth most in the state of Utah) including seven in nine years from 2006-14. It’s been since 2014 that Timpview hoisted the football state championship trophy.
“There really hasn’t been a focus on the nine years since the last title or the multiple championships that Timpview has won,” Atuaia said. “We’re all focused on this one step that we have in front of us.”
Skyridge, on the other hand, won its first title just last year in just its seventh year since it opened and now the goal is to double that tally.
“Our team has rallied around each other in a challenging time,” Gleaves said. “Hopefully we come out tomorrow and just play to our capability and execute at a high level.”
The Thunderbirds come in as big favorites, having only lost to the Falcons in Utah this year (they also lost to Los Alamitos from California), but Atuaia knows his squad can’t afford to think victory is assured.
“Our whole mantra is just us this year,” Atuaia said. “We always focus on what we can do to be better. Whatever opponent is in front of us, we feel like we’re ready. The whole point is just to make sure that we are better ourselves.”
He knows Bountiful has some talented players and will give everything it has to upset Timpview.
“They go both ways, but they can do some damage,” Atuaia said. “We’ve got to try to figure out how to get to them and hopefully we can create some mistakes.”
Timpview struggled with costly penalties in the 5A semifinal win over Olympus, allowing the Titans to take a late lead and forcing the T’Birds to rely on a dramatic last-second field goal by sophomore Luke Thornock to keep their season alive.
Atuaia said being more disciplined is something the Timpview program is preaching and it could be a key in the championship.
“It’s been a focus this year but we still have a lot to learn,” Atuaia said. “We can control many kinds of penalties, like personal fouls. That’s been our focus with our team meetings, to make sure we’re not selfish in that area and focus on the team.”
Skyridge has also had to be disciplined to overcome the distractions that came with having head coach Justin Hemm suspended due to the Falcons playing an ineligible player in the first two rounds of the tournament.
While Gleaves said that has been tough and required adjustments, he’s seen the players come together and push themselves to be ready for their opportunity.
“I think the players have really responded,” Gleaves said. “We have a great group of senior leaders that have taken it upon themselves to push every player each day.”
Skyridge certainly can’t afford to make mistakes if it wants to knock off a Charger team that piled up 63 points in its victory over Lehi in last week’s 6A semifinal.
“It’s a really special offense,” Gleaves said. “It’s very, very talented group and they’re coached extremely well. They’re very balanced. They really challenge defenses because they have a lot of options.”
He said it is key for the Falcons to step up and be ready for the challenge.
“I feel like we have one of the best defensive front-sevens in the state of Utah right now,” Gleaves said. “I feel like we can we have some pieces in place that can put a little bit of pressure at times. We’re going to have to limit their explosive plays and force them to drive the field. We’re going to have to play a pretty perfect game to tomorrow to limit that offense.”
He said the biggest key for Skyridge is to not get caught up in trying to do too much but to focus on accomplishing their individual responsibilities.
“We need to play within ourselves,” Gleaves said. “We need to trust each other. We need to play our game and not feed into some of the things that Corner Canyon is going to try to do.
“From an offensive perspective, I think we’re going to have to sustain some drives. I think we’re going to have to be very good on third down. We’re going to have to be able to finish drives with touchdowns and not have no points or field goals.”
The Falcons and Chargers will play for the 6A state championship on Friday at 2:30 p.m., while the 5A title game between Timpview and Bountiful is slated to start at 6:30 p.m.
Both games will be played at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. For ticket information or more details, go to http://UHSAA.org.
