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Lehi • On the first drive in school history, Skyridge faced a manageable third-down opportunity. Cody Frampton, a converted wideout, received the snap in shotgun and quickly located Wyatt Parkinson, who weaved and raced down the hashes for a 71-yard touchdown.
Now that's how you write history.
The Falcons never relinquished their stranglehold on the passing game, as Frampton tossed five touchdown passes — three to Parkinson — to earn win No. 1, 33-14, against Ridgeline, another first-year program.
"Holy smokes," said Skyridge coach Jon Lehman. "We had some guys tonight that made a lot of really good plays. …You don't really know what the outcome is going to, but I expected them to compete."
Although Ridgeline evened the score at 7 after its quarterback, Payton Thomas, eluded pressure and needled a 4-yard touchdown pass into Kody Pope, it never felt as if Skyridge wasn't completely in control.
Operating under Lehman, a well-respected defensive mind, the Falcons aimed to fluster Ridgeline by introducing multiple coverages. The RiverHawks, without highly-coveted two-way player Levani Damuni, sputtered and stalled on multiple occasions, and if not for three stops deep within their own territory — the game could have been even more lopsided.
"We didn't want to give him the same look twice," Lehman said about confusing Thomas. "He's a really good athlete. He's dynamic with his feet when he gets out in space. Our goal going into the game was [to] change up the looks he's seeing and maybe get a couple sacks."
Skyridge never trailed. Frampton's 32-yard strike to Parkinson on play-action broke the 7-7 stalemate, and his next touchdown pass from 39 yards out to Nathan Upham extended the Falcons' lead to 19-7 at the break.
"Adrenaline-rushing," said Parkinson about his touchdown catches. "Best feeling in the world."
Frampton connected with Parkinson on the opening drive of the third quarter on a simple bubble screen which evolved into a 56-yard touchdown down the sidelines before putting the game on ice with a 14-yard bullet to Alex Palmer on fourth-and-five with 5:06 remaining.
"It was awesome," Frampton said. "I can't describe it in words."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Skyridge dominates in the battle of first-year schools.
• Quarterback Cody Frampton throws five TD passes, including three to Wyatt Parkinson.
• The Falcons score on the first drive in school history. —
Friday's games
All games 7 p.m. except where indicated
Gunnison at Wayne, 4 p.m.
Riverton at Sky View, 5:30 p.m.
San Juan at South Summit, 5:30 p.m.
Altamont at American Leadership
American Fork at Hunter
Ben Lomond at Richfield
Bingham at Westlake
Bonneville at Fremont
Box Elder at Logan
Brighton at Herriman
Cyn. View at Beaver
Cedar at Provo
Copper Hills at Granger
Cottonwood at Olympus
Davis at Clearfield
Desert Hills at Jordan
Diamond Ranch at Enterprise
Duchesne at Milford
Emery at Summit
Grand at Monticello
Grantsville at Cyprus
Highland at Mountain Crest
Kanab at South Sevier
Kearns at Stansbury
Layton Christian at North Summit
Lehi at Hillcrest
Lone Peak at Mountain Crest
Lone Peak at Bountiful
Manti at Carbon
Maple Mountain at Woods Cross
Millard at Juab
Morgan at Bear River
Mountain View at Spanish Fork
North Sanpete at Tooele
Ogden at Wasatch
Park City at Union
Parowan at North Sevier
Payson at Timpanogos
Pine View at Judge
Pleasant Grove at Corner Canyon
Roy at Murray
Salem Hills at Delta
Skyline at Hurricane
Snow Canyon at Uintah
Springville at Dixie
Syracuse at East
Taylorsville at Alta
Viewmont at Northridge
Weber at Layton
West at Timpview
West Jordan at Juan Diego