This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Holladay • The annual Battle for the Rock between Olympus and Skyline looks like a landslide.
It wasn't.
Senior quarterback Sawyer Pierce ran for one touchdown and threw for another Friday night, leading the ninth-ranked Titans to a 31-14 victory over the Eagles.
Olympus improved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 with the victory, which clinched the Region 6 championship. But the game was a tense, hard-fought battle until the final 82 seconds, when the Titans scored twice to seal the victory.
Trailing 17-14 with four minutes remaining, Skyline owned the ball at its 31-yard line. The Eagles failed to pick up a first down, however, and Olympus took over.
With 1:55 left, the Titans faced fourth-and-3 from the 28. After a perfect play fake by Pierce, he rolled out and completed a 22-yard pass to junior tight end Cameron Latu.
Four plays later, senior running back Ben Bywater scored from the Olympus 2-yard line to make it 24-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, Skyline tried a lateral pass that was fumbled into its own end zone. The Titans recovered for a touchdown that made the final score look far more lopsided than the Eagles deserved.
Skyline quarterback Tommy McGrath threw for one touchdown and Seth Kaelin scored early in the fourth quarter to make it 17-14, but it wasn't enough. The Titans slipped to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in Region 6.
The game was the 50th in the all-time series between neighboring Olympus and Skyline. The Titans have now prevailed in six of the last seven, after the Eagles went 13-2 against Olympus from 1989 through 2005.
In this game, Olympus got the first big break.
Facing third-and-8 from the Skyline 36 midway through the second quarter, the Titans came up short of a first down. But a late hit enabled them to retain possession. They failed to move but kicker Tony Foulger salvaged the drive with a 43-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
Late in the second quarter, Tyler Smith's 25-yard punt return gave the Titans the ball at their 38.
After moving to the Skyline 45, Pierce completed four straight passes to Smith.
Then, on first-and-goal from the 8, Pierce hit Sam Sherwood with 28 seconds left to give Olympus a 10-0 lead.
Instead of running out the clock, however, Skyline got back in the game. McGrath completed two passes before a personal foul gave the Eagles a first down on the Titan 23.
On the final play, McGrath found Benjamin Knight over the middle. He caught the ball at the five but somehow eluded three defenders as time expired to make it 10-7 and set up the tense second half.
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Storylines
R Olympus scores twice in the final 1:22 to defeat rival Skyline on Friday night, 31-14.
• Titan quarterback Sawyer Pierce runs for one touchdown and passes for another.
• Fourth-ranked Olympus improves to 8-1 overall and clinches the Region 6 championship.