This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Just when it looked as though Skyline might lose to a Washington County team on the Eagles' home field for a second straight season, Riley Sharp came up with two big plays in the fourth quarter.
As a result, Skyline opened the 2015 Utah high school football season with a come-from-behind 17-3 victory against Hurricane on Thursday night.
The Eagles struggled on offense, coughing up three fumbles and seeing several other good drives stymied by penalties. But a 50-yard field goal late in the third quarter by Joseph Matsen seemed to fire up Skyline.
The Eagles took advantage of a botched Hurricane punt to take the lead early in the fourth quarter when Sharp hauled in a 9-yard touchdown pass from George Weeks in heavy traffic.
Moments later, Sharp clinched the game with a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown that insured Skyline would have bragging rights for one day as the team with the best football record in the state.
"Riley made the big plays when he needed to," said Eagles coach Justin Thompson. "He's that kind of player. We expect him to do that."
Still, the Class 4A Eagles will find much to work on next week after their difficult win over a fine Hurricane team, which finished second in Class 3AA last season.
"We have a lot of things to clean up," said Thompson. "It was a sloppy game. But the thing we are happiest about is our defense. We attacked them well. We got the turnovers. Any time you can score on defense, you are probably going to win the game most of the time."
Hurricane's defense was also more than up to the task much of the night, holding Skyline scoreless for most of three quarters and forcing three turnovers.
For a while, it looked as though the Tigers' Jaden Stone's 21-yard field goal in the second quarter might be the game's only score.
In the end, Skyline's much bigger line seemed to wear down the smaller Tigers, who also were hurt by a couple of key injuries.
That said, if Skyline can find an offense to go with its stout defense, it will be a tough team to beat in Region 6 this season.
Twitter @Tribtomwharton —
Skyline 17 Hurricane 3
R Skyline's Riley Sharp catches one touchdown pass and returns an interception for another score for the Eagles in the fourth quarter.
• Hurricane gets a 21-yard field goal from Jaden Stone and uses a stout defense to stay with the bigger Eagles much of the game.
• Joseph Matsen kicks a 50-yard field goal for Skyline. —
Friday's football schedule
North Summit at Layton Christian, 4 p.m.
Hunter at American Fork, 5 p.m.
South Summit at San Juan, 5:30 p.m.
ALA at Altamont, 7 p.m.
Bear River at Morgan, 7 p.m.
Beaver at Canyon View, 7 p.m.
Bountiful at Lone Peak, 7 p.m.
Box Elder at Logan, 7 p.m.
Carbon at Manti, 7 p.m.
Clearfield at Davis, 7 p.m.
Corner Canyon at Pleasant Grove, 7 p.m.
Cyprus at Alta, 7 p.m.
Delta at Salem Hills, 7 p.m.
Dixie at Springville, 7 p.m.
East at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Enterprise at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
Fremont at Bonneville, 7 p.m.
Granger at Copper Hills, 7 p.m.
Herriman at Brighton, 7 p.m.
Hillcrest at Lehi, 7 p.m.
Hunter at American Fork, 7 p.m.
Jordan at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
Juab at Millard, 7 p.m.
Juan Diego at West Jordan, 7 p.m.
Judge at Pine View, 7 p.m.
Layton at Weber, 7 p.m.
Milford at Duchesne, 7 p.m.
Monticello at Grand, 7 p.m.
Mountain Crest at Highland, 7 p.m.
Murray at Taylorsville, 7 p.m.
North Sevier at Parowan, 7 p.m.
Northridge at Viewmont, 7 p.m.
Olympus at Cottonwood, 7 p.m.
Provo at Cedar, 7 p.m.
Richfield at Ben Lomond, 7 p.m.
Sky View at Riverton, 7 p.m.
Snow Canyon at Payson, 7 p.m.
South Sevier at Kanab, 7 p.m.
Spanish Fork at Mountain View, 7 p.m.
Stansbury at North Sanpete, 7 p.m.
Summit at Emery, 7 p.m.
Timpanogos at Kearns, 7 p.m.
Timpview at West, 7 p.m.
Tooele at Grantsville, 7 p.m.
Uintah at Orem, 7 p.m.
Union at Park City, 7 p.m.
Wasatch at Ogden, 7 p.m.
Wayne at Gunnison, 7 p.m.
Westlake at Bingham, 7 p.m.
Woods Cross at Maple Mountain, 7 p.m.