A bittersweet environment underscored the aura at Carbon High on Friday, Oct. 10, as the Dinos celebrated their seniors in preparation for their final home game. Facing the Manti Templars, the Dinos fought valiantly, scoring 21 unanswered in the second half, but it was too little, too late as Manti claimed a 42-21 victory.

The Templars wasted no time getting on the board, scoring on the first play of their first two drives to build an early 14-0 advantage. Manti tacked on another pair of scores in the frame, ending the first quarter with a 28-0 advantage.

A potent rush attack set the tone for quarter two, with Tala Taulapapa and Isaac Crowther both punching the ball across the goal line as the Templars created a daunting 42-0 lead as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.

Despite the rocky start, the second half was all Carbon. The Dinos got the ball rolling following an extended drive set-up by a Manti fumble, capped off by a one-yard push to the promised land by junior back Daxtyn Mower. A successful point after by Tayger Timothy reduced the deficit to 42-7.

Midway through the fourth, Kayden Dunn took a snap at the one-yard line and dove into the end zone to tack another six on the board for Carbon. Timothy was again on point with the kick as he made it a 42-14 affair.

The Dinos scored once more in the waning moments of the final frame, with Freshman Dawson Johnson breaking away from the pack and sprinting 53 yards to the end zone for one final Carbon touchdown. Timothy completed his PAT trifecta, connecting on a third consecutive kick and creating a final score of 42-21.

Leading the rushing attack for the Dinos was Dunn, who racked up 82 yards on the ground. Behind him was Timothy, who rushed for 41 yards. In total, Carbon rushed for 171 yards in the contest.

The loss moves the Dinos to 2-7 overall and 0-5 in region play. One last game remains before the start of the playoffs, as Carbon travels to Cedar City to face the top-ranked Cedar Reds (9-0,5-0).

Pregame coverage for this contest begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Landon’s Diesel Service Pregame show, followed by kickoff at 7 p.m. Live coverage of the game is hosted on KRPX 95.3 the Peak, in addition to a video stream on Castle Country Radio-Carbon on YouTube.

Watch the full game here: