Top-seed Ridgeline ends Provo’s season in 4A semifinals
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- Provo’s Teave Brown (right) tries to escape the tackle of Ridgeline’s Coen Richards in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Ronnie Wright (5) runs away from Ridgeline’s Jaxon Zollinger in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Lincoln Dansie (20) carries the ball against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo quarterback Gehrig Orchard throws a pass against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Gehrig Orchard looks for a receiver against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Ronnie Wright (5) runs with the ball against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Ronnie Wright gathers in a pass in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo quarterback Gehrig Orchard throws a pass against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Howie Kinikini (77) and Teave Brown tackle Ridgeline’s Crosby West in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Griffin DeMartini (left) tries to escape the tackle of Ridgeline’s Jeff Woodland in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo’s Teave Brown runs with the ball against Ridgeline in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
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- Provo quarterback Gehrig Orchard (left) gets a pass away under pressure from Ridgeline’s Matt Alles in a 4A football state semifinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
The dream of taking state is over for the Provo football team as the Bulldogs were defeated by top-seeded Ridgeline 48-22 in the 4A semifinals Thursday night.
As the No. 5 seed Provo actually started off the game strong as Teave Brown secured an interception and returned it 12 yards to set up the Bulldogs at the Ridgeline 35 yard line.
Provo advanced it to the 6-yard but were stopped on fourth and one.
“We didn’t get the fourth down there and that was another score that gets pulled off the board and that was unfortunate,” Provo head coach Kirk Chambers said. “We came out into this game with the energy we wanted, we were doing what we wanted.”
The Bulldog defense held firm and a nice 15-yard punt return by Ronnie Wright again set up Provo inside Riverhawk territory. But again Provo’s offense stalled and a 47-yard field goal attempt by Spencer Shulman went under the crossbar by the narrowest of margins.
Ridgeline then scored on their next possession as Crosby West took it over the goal line from two yards away. Brown nearly had his second interception a few plays earlier but Graham Livinston caught the tipped ball on third down to extend the Riverhawk drive.
Provo responded and scored when Wright hauled in a 5-yard reception from Gehrig Orchard which knotted the contest at 7-7.
The Bulldogs fell apart in the second quarter, surrendering 28 straight points and turnovers were a big part of the story.
“The momentum shifted when we turned the ball over,” said Chambers. “The game kind of got away from us and they’re super talented.”
At the 7:35 mark of the second quarter Krew Jones hauled in a 2-yard pass from Nate Dahle. Then just over two minutes later Livingston scored on a 15-yard pass. After an offsides penalty on Provo on the extra point, Ridgeline decided to go for two points and were successful as Dahle ran it in to put the Riverhawks out in front 22-7.
Things went from bad to worse as Ridgeline’s Hunter Knighton picked off Orchard for a 27-yard pick six. Ridgeline went for two points again but their effort was thwarted so the Riverhawks led 28-7. But just before half Ridgeline’s defense came up with another interception and turned it into points as Owen Leishman collected a 9-yard pass from Dahle. After the successful point after by West, Ridgeline took a 35-7 lead into the locker room.
Provo received the ball to start the second half and Wright had a nice 50-yard kickoff return to set up the Bulldogs in Riverhawk territory. But Provo turned the ball over on downs.
Onn the ensuing possession Ridgeline took an aggressive tact going for it on fourth down near midfield and this time the Bulldog defense held. The defensive stand set up Wright’s second scoring connection with Orchard, this time from 11 yards out to trim the Ridgeline lead to 35-14.
However, Provo couldn’t stop the high-octane Ridgeline offense on its next possession and Livingston scored on a 40-yard reception. It was the run after catch that was spectacular as the Riverhawk receiver and BYU commit broke several tackles then scampered up the sidelines. The PAT did hit the upright so Ridgeline led 41-14.
Unfortunately for Provo, the turnover bug hit again as Hunter Sholly took one to the house via a 73-yard interception return.
Provo did score one more time in the final stanza when Orchard connected with Crew DeMartini on a 12-yard score. DeMartini also hauled in an Orchard throw on the two-point conversion which closed out the scoring with Ridgeline winning 48-22.
Injuries and illness hurt the Bulldogs in this contest. Griffin DeMartini, who plays both ways as a receiver and defensive end, missed a long stretch due to illness. The relentless Riverhawk pass rush took Orchard out of the game for a few plays. But the biggest absence was Malik Filimoe’atu, who missed the entire game after being injured in Provo’s quarterfinal win over Hurricane. Filimoe’atu is another two-way star, and in Provo’s second round win over Salem Hills, he rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
“Unfortunately, we were dealing with some personnel issues, guys that were hurt or sick,” Chambers said. “Not having Malik running the ball was really hard. That’s a big part of what we do, he’s a big part of our team with leadership and everything too.”
Ridgeline (13-0) will now face the winner of the No. 2 seed Crimson Cliffs (10-1) vs. No. 14 Green Canyon (8-5) contest. The semifinal loss snapped a seven game winning streak for Provo as the Bulldogs finished their season at 8-5.
NO. 1 RIDGELINE 48, NO. 5 PROVO 22
Provo 7 0 7 8 -22
Ridgeline 7 28 6 7 -48
R-Crosby West 2 run (Crosby West kick)
P-Ronnie Wright 5 pass from Gehrig Orchard (Spencer Shuman kick)
R-Krew Jones 3 pass from Nate Dahle (West kick)
R-Graham Livingston 15 pass from Dahle (Dahle run)
R-Hunter Knighton 27 interception return (pass failed)
R-Owen Leishman 9 pass from Dahle (West kick)
P-Wright 11 pass from Orchard (Shuman kick)
R-Livingston 40 pass from Dahle (kick failed)
R-Hunter Sholly 73 interception return (West kick)
P-Crew Martini 12 pass from Orchard (Martini pass from Orchard)
