| Zeke Atwood gets a hand on this pass but it falls incomplete. |
The Emery Spartans and the Uintah Utes battled it out at Spartan Field on Thursday. At games end the Utes were out front 10-7 and were the victors in a hard fought battle.
Things got off to a bit of a rocky start as a pass was intercepted on the Spartans first possession. However, the defense answered the call to get tough and saw it through the four downs and took over the ball. Garrett Swenson was off and running for a long gain and a first down and Jason Parrish added another first down with his run. Parrish rushed for 5 yards and Kadin Wilson also added yardage with a long run. A pass complete with a long gain rushing by Swenson was called back with a holding call on the Spartans. Brandon Hansen catches a pass from the quarterback, Bowie Jeffs for a short gain, but the Spartans got lucky as a pass interference call on the Utes gave them an automatic first down.
The next drive saw a short gain on a quarterback keeper by Jeffs and a Parrish run for 3 yards; another quarterback keeper brought the ball close enough to a 1st down that the officials decided to measure it and the Spartans had another 1st down. Parrish rushed for 4 yards and the next play saw the Utes jump and this brought the Spartans 5 yards closer to the goal line. Emery called a time out with the ball on the 3-yard-line and 3:03 left in the 1st quarter. The next play saw Parrish barreling in for the score and the Spartans were on top 0-6. Jake Jensen added to the score with a successful point after.
The Utes made it to 3rd and 1-yard to go for the 1st down, but then they fumbled and Emery recovered on the 41 yard-line. A pass was incomplete to Swenson and the next pass attempt was intercepted by the Utes. The Utes were given even more yardage with a late hit call on the Spartans. Josh Sharp puts the tackle on the Utes and Bryan Fox and Caleb Sitterud get to the Ute quarterback and a loss results on the play. The pass by the Utes was incomplete and the Utes were forced to punt. The punt strikes a Spartan in the chest and bounces off and a Ute is there to recover the ball.
The Spartans dodge a bullet as the Utes throw for an incomplete pass, run up the middle for a shot gain and Parrish stops a runner to bring up 4th down for the Utes. An incomplete pass gave the ball back to the Spartans on the 19 yard line. Swenson runs for a 1st down to start the series, but the next series resulted in the Utes intercepting a Spartan pass. A couple of good stops by Sharp and Hansen weren’t quite enough and the Utes run it in for a touchdown.
Wilson returns the ball on the kickoff for good starting position for the Spartans. Swenson catches a pass and runs for a first down. Zeke Atwood catches the ball and runs for a large gain but the play is brought back by a hold on the Spartans. Swenson runs the ball back for a large gain and it brings up 3rd and 6 for the Spartans. The next down the ball is passed to Swenson but it bounces off and is incomplete which brings up a punt by Hansen. The Ute brings the ball up the field for a 10-yard gain and the next play they throw an interception to Chris Keller of the Spartans, his knee went down and the Spartans take over on the 37-yard line.
Wilson has a carry for a gain of 3 yards and the next play Parrish motors up to the 50-yard-line to give Emery a 1st down. Parrish is again on the move up the middle for a 9 1/2 yard gain. Jeffs fumbles on the next down, but is able to recover. A pass is thrown incomplete intended for Swenson and the Spartans are forced to punt. Hansen punts the ball which lands on the 5-yard-line for an excellent punt. Sharp tackles the Ute runner to keep the ball on the 5-yard-line. The Utes complete a pass for a 1st down and the Ute is tackled by Seth Cox. Sharp is there for the next tackle and the next play results in an interception for Parrish who runs the ball back to the Ute 18-yard-line. With one minute left in the half Emery calls a time out to talk about it. The Spartan hope for another score is dashed as a pass intended for Hansen is intercepted on the goal line and the half ends with the score at 7-7.
The third quarter begins with a kickoff to the Utes. They steadily move the ball down field but are unable to get close enough to score and are held out by the Spartan defense. They do, however, get close enough to give their field goal kicker a chance to score which he does to bring the score to Utes 10, Spartans, 7.
The Spartans next possession goes nowhere and Hansen punts the ball away. Tackles by Sharp and Truman keep the Utes at bay, but the Spartan offense didn’t get the required yardage and Hansen punts again as the third quarter ends.
The Utes are forced to punt their first possession of the 4th quarter. Swenson has a good run back and is bumped out of bounds, a personal foul on the Utes gives the Spartans an extra 15-yards and a 1st down. Royce Campbell opens a hole and Parrish runs for 1-yard gain and Atwood catches a pass to give the Spartans another 1st down. Swenson takes the ball down field and is close to a 1st down and Parrish gets the first down the next play. Jeffs is sacked trying to get a pass off and the next play is an incomplete pass to Hansen. A bad snaps leaves Jeffs scrambling for the ball and he is able to recover but it brings up 4th down and Hansen punts the ball away. The Utes are held to no gains and with 5:55 left to play in the 4th quarter Emery has the ball 1st and 10.
Swenson carries for a short gain and a face mask penalty on the Utes bring the Spartans down to the 15-yard-line. Emery pushes Parrish up the middle for a 4-yard gain and Swenson picks up the rest of the yardage for a 1st down in the next play, however, a hold on Emery on the play pushes them back and brings up 2nd and 18. On 3rd down Wilson catches the ball for a huge gain and a 1st down. Three incomplete passes in a row lead to a Hansen punt. The Utes fumble the ball, but recover with 3:22 left to play in the game. Atwood stops a Ute quarterback keeper and tough defense leads to a punt by the Utes. Swenson catches the ball and returns it for a gain. With 2:14 left on the clock Hansen completes a pass and an unsportsmen like conduct on the Utes brings the Spartans a 1st down on the 25-yard-line. Parrish barrels up the middle for another first down and then Swenson scrambles down to the 10-yard-line. The Spartans have a 1st down with 43 seconds left to go in the ballgame and the ball sat on the 7-yard-line. The snap to Jeffs was a bit low and the Spartans hopes for a score and a win are lost in a fumble recovered by the Utes. The Utes hang onto the ball and the win by a score of 10-7.
The Spartans will play the Carbon Dinos on Spartan field on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
Emery ended up with 103 yards rushing and Emery passers were 8 for 24 for 97 yards passing and four interceptions were thrown.
The offensive player of the game was Garrett Swenson and the lineman of the game was Josp Sharp.
Brandon Hansen was the defensive player of the game.