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Smithfield • Heading into their Friday night showdown with Brighton, the second-ranked Sky View Bobcats had been told all about the big-play capability of the visiting Bengals.

Sure enough, Brighton was all that in the first half.

The Bengals' first two touchdowns consisted of a total of two plays.

But remember, Sky View had been forewarned.

"Our whole goal this week was, if big plays happened, we just needed to get over them and play our game," said Bobcats senior Colton Durrant.

And it was the short passing game of Sky View that led the 'Cats to a 34-24 victory to keep their unbeaten season going.

"It was a heck of a game and a team effort," said Durrant, a lineman who picked up a big first down when handed the ball in the first half, and who made a critical interception in the third quarter. "We all did our role."

Brighton (5-2) got on the board first with a 21-yard field goal by John Michael Williams, which was matched by Sky View (6-0) when Kyler Erickson booted in a 28-yarder after a 17-yard drive — prolonged when an attempted punt catch by the Bengals was fumbled back to the home team.

It didn't take the Bengals nearly as long when they got the ball back.

On the first play of the second quarter, Andrew Covey hit Simi Fehoko with an 80-yard touchdown pass for a 10-3 lead.

Sky View responded with a 36-yard pass from Garrison Beach to Alex McCrae to tie the score with 7:27 left in the first half.

Once again, the Bengals pounced on the first play of their next drive. This time, it was quarterback Drew Jensen who found Dylan Pearmain for a 47-yard touchdown strike.

As it turned out, that would be the last big highlight of the night for the visitors.

Beach, who through for a total of 276 yards on the night, found Bryce Mortenson for a 26-yard strike with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 17 each. Mortenson was no less impressive on the night, as the Bobcats' wide receiver snagged 12 passes for 135 yards.

To start the second half, another Erickson field goal put the 'Cats up 20-17.

Then came Durrant's next big highlight: An interception of a pass at the Brighton 12, which he returned back to the 4-yard line.

Two plays later, Beach found junior Jake Pitcher for a two-yard TD pass and the margin went to 10.

"You know, I was coming off the ball and no one was blocking me," the 6-foot-2, 280-pound Durrant said of his pick. "I kind of sat a little bit, saw the ball coming and reached my hand out."

Beach found Breygan Holbrook for one final touchdown pass, moving the score to 34-17, before Brighton got a two-yard scoring run from Sione Heimuli-Lund with 2:10 left to play.

Next week, Sky View returns to region action when it hosts Roy. Brighton, which has now lost two straight, goes to West Jordan for a region contest of its own. —

Storylines

R Sky View remains unbeaten behind 276 yards passing from Garrison Beach.

• Bobcats lineman Colton Durrant made a big interception of a Bengals' pass in the third quarter, leading to a short touchdown run and a 10-point lead.