Skyridge Eliminates Roy To Return To 5A Championship Game
Nov 9, 2018, 3:19 PM | Updated: 3:51 pm
Skyridge's Ma'a Notoa (32) scores a touchdown during the 5A semifinal against Roy High School at Rice- Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (Qiling Wang/Deseret News)
(Qiling Wang/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Skyridge Falcons knocked off the Roy Royals 42-15 off of a strong offensive performance in the first half. They return to the 5A Championship game for the second straight season.
Skyridge quarterback Jayden Clemons threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, connecting on 11-of-21 pass attempts. He ran the ball 21 times while racking up 130 yards and another score.
His backfield mate, running back Ma’a Notoa added 60 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Roy quarterback Jaxson Dart had 181 yards through the air and two touchdown passes.
Strong First Half For Skyridge
Notoa started the game with a nine yard touchdown run to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead, just three and a half minutes into the game.
Clemons connected with James Palmer from 21 yards out to jump Skyridge to a two touchdown lead.
Roy found the end zone with 3:31 left in the opening quarter as Dart found wide receiver Dionte Davis for a 60-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to seven.
Skyridge scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter including a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown from Blayden Togiai.
The celebration in the end zone was fun all around. Togiai was asked where the celebration came from.
“We learned it off of Madden. Too much Madden.”
The Falcons held a commanding 35-7 lead at halftime. Skyridge head coach Jon Lehman talked about his team’s impressive first half performance.
“We wanted to be balanced and keep them off balance. We wanted to get our play-makers in good spots and let them make plays,” he said.
Roy Head Coach Ejected In Fourth Quarter
With 8:04 remaining in the game, Roy had converted on fourth down but the officials marked the ball short. Royals head coach Fred Fernandes argued the call as he stepped almost to the middle of the field. The officials threw two penalty flags and ejected the head coach as Roy trailed 35-15.
Skyridge will face the winner of Corner Canyon and Olympus on Friday, November 16. The game will be played at Rice Eccles Stadium.
