Needing a win to bolster their playoff chances, the Carbon Dinos dropped the regular season finale 28-20 on the road against the South Sevier Rams Wednesday night in Monroe.
Trailing 28-14 at the end of the first half, the Dinos outscored South Sevier 6-0 in the final two quarters. Despite having multiple chances to possibly tie the game, the Carbon offense was unable to establish a final scoring drive.
“We felt like we made some pretty good adjustments defensively at half time,” said head coach Josh Huntsman. “We thought if we can score on our first drive in the second half we’ll put ourselves in position to get a win.”
Entering the season finale 0-4 in the Region 12 play, the Dinos were playing for an opportunity to cause mayhem in the UHSAA RPI rankings. A win over South Sevier would have complicated the new format by creating a three-way tie in the division between Carbon, South Sevier and Emery.
Senior standout Jaylon Dennis scored two touchdowns in Friday night’s loss. Again showcasing his ability to create magic in the open field, Dennis returned a kick 95-yards for a score. The second came on a 17 yard run.
Defensively the Dinos adjusted to South Sevier’s slow paced offense. After turning the ball over on downs deep in the fourth quarter, Carbon’s defense had one last opportunity to get the ball back to their offense. On third and long South Sevier quarterback Noah Ramsey completed a game ending pass, which was deflected by a Carbon defender.
“They did what they had to do and I thought our kids fought hard,” Huntsman said. “I thought our kids played well. It’s tough to watch them play what could be their last game, but I am super proud of them.”
In order to advance to the state playoffs Carbon will have to place inside the top 16 of the final RPI rankings, which will be released Saturday morning. Regardless of the outcome, Huntsman believes his team delivered maximum effort.
“We are super proud of team five. They came out and they gave everything they had. Now, we are relying on a computer to see if we get to play another game.”