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Sandy • Timpview coach Cary Whittingham showed some faith in not only his field-goal kicker, but also his offense's ability to make up the whole deficit later late in the first half.

Whittingham's Thunderbirds faced fourth-and-1 inside Alta's 20-yard line. Zach Simpson kicked a 35-yard field goal to trim a one-time 11-point deficit to one point, and the Thunderbirds continued to roll. A string of 38 straight points paved the way for Timpview's 41-28 victory over Alta on Friday night.

The game marked the first start at quarterback for Timpview junior Britain Covey, who threw for 156 yards but was equally impressive rushing the ball for 119 yards.

Combined with T-bird running back Kendall Tu'ua's 77 yards pounding the middle of the Hawks' line, the new backfield combination built a 41-14 lead before Alta scored a pair of late touchdowns.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking to start, but once I got that first hit on me, I felt pretty good. Our coaches did a pretty good job of keeping us composed," Covey said about the 14-3 deficit early. "We were moving the chains well, but we just didn't capitalize. My line was protecting me, and [Kendall] runs harder than anyone. He will truck people."

Alta quarterback Chipper Lucero hit receiver Mack Richards for a total of four touchdowns.

But Timpview's defensive line began to dominate behind the play of Isaiah Nacua, who recorded a pair of sacks at the end of the first half. That preceded a blocked punt that gave Covey a chance to find Tu'ua with a TD pass for a 27-14 advantage with 2 seconds before halftime.

"It seemed like for a time they did everything right," Alta coach Bob Stephens said. "They got a lot of pressure on Chipper and rattled him a little bit, I think."

"We knew if we just kept plugging away and doing it right, we'd pull away," Whittingham said. "To their credit, they played smart and did pull away."