Duchesne’s Skyler Ford breaks a tackle from Carbon’s Collin Lewis on Friday August 31, 2018 (Photo Credit: Francie Jones).
Carbon football lost to the Duchesne Eagles 21-12 on Friday in a non-region game at home.
Out of the first three games of the season for the Dinos, this one was the closest loss and the best game the Dinos played.
It was a couple of unlucky plays and turnovers that gave the Duchesne the edge on Friday night.
Starting early in the second quarter the Eagles recovered a live ball on a punt after the ball touched a Carbon player.
That unlucky play for Carbon set the Eagles up with a drive starting at the Carbon 29-yard line.
“I thought our kids played well in the first half. We get an unfortunate thing where the ball gets kicked and bounces off a player and they recover it and get it in the endzone,” said Carbon Head Coach Joshua Huntsman.
Duchesne would score on a six-yard touchdown run by Skyler Ford and a two-point conversion to go up 8-0 on Carbon.
The Dinos would respond later in the second quarter with a touchdown of their own when Carbon quarterback Noah Jones found Jaylon Dennis open down the middle for a 53-yard touchdown grab.
“Jaylon is definitely a playmaker, he does a good job for us every year. He is going to continue to do a good job for us this season, we were pleased with what he did tonight,” said Huntsman.
The two-point conversion following the touchdown was unsuccessful but the Eagles’ lead was cut to two points at halftime.
After halftime, the Eagles would march down the field and score on a 5-yard touchdown run to go up 14-6. The Duchesne drive took up seven minutes of the third quarter.
Both teams would go three and out following the touchdown entering the fourth quarter.
Carbon would get the ball back at the beginning of the fourth quarter and get a score with the help of big plays from Dennis, Ryker Larsen, and Collin Lewis.
With 8:52 left in the game the Dinos scored on a Jones would find Larsen from seven yards out to make it a 14-12 game.
On the next drive the Eagles would go all the way down to the 16-yard line before a high snap fumble would give the Dinos the ball back with five minutes left to play.
Two plays later the Dinos would give the ball back to the Eagles when a Jones pass attempt on a screen play would result in an interception.
With the ball inside the five, the Eagles would punch the ball in for another score with less than two minutes to play.
Despite having a slim chance of winning of the game mathematically, the Dinos would set up an impressive drive in the last two minutes and get all the way down to the Duchesne two-yard line before time expired.
Plays made by Lewis and Jones during that drive showed how much heart the Dinos showed with the game out of reach.
“Our kids are going to put forth everything out there and there are going to play hard whistle to whistle and buzzer to buzzer,” said Huntsman.
Lewis said after the game that his team left it all out on the field and it was just those unlucky plays that got them.
“Our effort tonight was great. But unlucky plays, tip passed, fumble on the punt, just unlucky plays. We played our guts out but just some unlucky plays,” said Lewis.
Carbon will now move forward to a long road trip to Ogden on Friday to take on the Tigers.
Friday night’s game against Ogden is the last non-region contest before the Dinos open 3A North Region play against Union on September 14.