The Carbon High School Dinos made the trip up to Spanish Fork to take on the American Leadership Academy Eagles on Friday, Aug. 16. The Dinos would find themselves in a back-and-forth affair with ALA in a game that came down to the wire and Carbon escaping with a 41-40 victory.
The scoring started immediately when Eagle junior Quarterback Nicolas Marble delivered an 80-yard bomb to senior running back Kannon Huntsman on the first play from scrimmage. However, ALA would miss the kick, giving the Eagles the early 6-0 edge.
The Dinos would answer back on the ensuing drive, methodically working the way down the field, capping off the possession with a five-yard pass from Senior Quarterback Stockton Kennedy to Senior Running Back Anthony Wilson. Unlike ALA, Carbon would convert on the extra point giving them the 7-6 advantage
Carbon’s defense would come up big and force a turnover on downs against the Eagles, leading to another stellar offensive drive for the Dinos. This time it would be Kennedy slinging the touchdown to junior tight end Maddux Wilson. Again the kick was good and the Dinos claimed the 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter however would be all ALA, with Marble and Huntsman again connecting through the air, this time over a shorter distance of 17 yards. But the Eagles again could not convert the extra point, cutting into Carbon’s lead 14-12.
Marble would deliver another long bomb just two minutes later, this time finding junior wide receiver Gabriel Hill whowove his way 70 yards downfield to score again for ALA. This time the Eagles instead of kicking would opt to go for the two-point conversion, which they successfully scored giving them the 20-14 advantage.
American Leadership would strike again before the halftime break when Marble completed a seven-yard pass to senior receiver Tad Swarnes. The Eagles would again go for two, but a stout defensive effort from Carbon would prevent them from converting, giving ALA the 26-14 differential at halftime.
Despite receiving the second-half kickoff, Carbon would not be the first to score after the break. On the second play from scrimmage, a ball knocked loose by senior linebacker Nathan Tanner was recovered and ran 25 yards to the house. Carbon would again stop a two-point conversion attempt but found themselves down three possessions 32-14.
Despite the increasing odds for ALA, Carbon would not go quietly. Just two minutes after the fumble-six, Kennedy would throw his third touchdown of the evening, this time finding senior Degan Richards in the end zone on a 15-yard throw. After the conversion of the extra point, the Dinos were back in the game 32-21.
Carbon would strike again in the third quarter, and again it was Kennedy slinging the ball into the end zone. This time his target was junior receiver Trace Crespin 26 yards away. After another successful kick, the Dinos were only down four, 32-28.
However, to end the third quarter, Marble and Huntsman would again connect, this time it was a 37-yard bomb into the end zone. Marble would then sling it to Swarmes for the two-point conversion and cushion ALA’s lead to 40-28 going into the final frame.
Carbon again would attempt to claw back into the game, with a screen pass from Kennedy to Anthony Wilson going the distance from midfield and resulting in a 55-yard touchdown. Another successful kick meant the Dinos would only be down five, 40-35, with minutes to spare in the game.
A turnover on downs in a crucial defensive stand from Carbon gave them the ball on their 35-yard line with 2:15 left to go. The first play resulted in an incomplete pass. The next play repeated that result. With 1:55 left to go in the game, Kennedy dropped back, looked downfield, and threw. But unfortunately for him, Huntsman had flown through off the edge and stuck his hands up and ripped it right from Kennedy. Turnover.
All hope seemed lost.
But then, the Dinos defense dug in, aided by some costly mistakes from the Eagles, forced a turnover on downs around American Leadership’s 45-yard line with 35 seconds left to go. After a few minimal plays, Kennedy delivered a 22-yard strike to Crespin, setting Carbon up at ALA’s 24-yard line with 15 seconds left.
But then, the lights went out and stayed out for 20 minutes. Spectators waited anxiously, wondering if this would be beneficial or detrimental to either team. When the lights came on, it was time to see what the case would be.
Carbon, working with limited time, knew they had to go big or go home empty-handed, the first pass from Kennedy soared through the air, before slipping through a receiver’s hands. Nine seconds left. Kennedy aimed for the end zone again but again came up with nothing. Four seconds left. Kennedy took the snap, dropped back, stepped up in the pocket, and unloaded a dart to senior receiver Eleke Lang on a slant. Lang would make two defenders miss before bulldozing in the end zone as time expired. Carbon wins 41-40.
Coach Bradon Rushton spoke after the game, explaining his favorite part of the win was,” definitely how the kids came together and didn’t quit, didn’t give up when things got hard. That’s a close game. There’s a lot of back and forth, a lot of good things, and a lot of bad things that happen. It’s just part of the game, but they came together. They never gave up and kept going strong. And, you know, ultimately that’s what we want because that will keep us close in games.”
Kennedy would end the game with 334 passing yards and six touchdown passes. His main target was Maddux Wilson, who ended his night with 140 receiving yards and a touchdown reception.
The Dinos now set their sights on the Grand Red Devils, a game that also serves as the home-opener for the team on Friday, Aug. 23. For full play-by-play coverage of the game you can tune into KRPX 95.3 the Peak or listen online here.