| JD Sherman fights for more yardage as some North Sanpete players pull him down. Carbon lost the game 48-18, but showed a lot of spark and fight in the loss. |
There was little to play for except a lackluster chance to play a number one seed in the first round of the state tournament. But in an unusual Thursday night contest last week, both Carbon and North Sanpete tried very hard to make a game of it. And in the end Carbon finally woke up and played four quarters of ball. In a game that mattered really only for pride the Dinos matched up with 0-3 North Sanpete for the final spot in the state tournament from Region 8.
It, however, appeared by the result, that North Sanpete wanted the trip to the tourney more than Carbon. With a final score of 48-18, Carbon ended their season with a 0-10 record. It was a game that was full of emotions on both sides which was a great improvement on the past few games in which Carbon has let their opponent run over the top of them.
The game started with neither team moving the ball much. With a little over five minutes left on the clock in the first quarter, North Sanpete got their offense moving and drew first blood. They scored again before the clock ran down ending the first period.
The Hawks added another score and it began to look like many of the past games. The Dinos began a good drive up the field and then penalties again set them back. It looked like another three and out when JJ Blue caught a pass from Willy Hill and ran 68 yards to the end zone. Even though the extra point failed, the Dinos were on the board before the half.
Carbon then regained possession on a squib kick and the team was ecstatic. But before they could blink, the Hawks forced a fumble and took it into the end zone.
On the next Carbon possession things got ugly. During a run in which Carbon gained a first down, tempers flared and Adam Archer and a player from North Sanpete exchanged blows and both were ejected. The benches emptied and it was lucky that more players weren’t thrown out of the contest.
Both sides coaches worked on getting their players heads back into the game during halftime. When the players returned to the field both sides were ready to play.
North Sanpete scored twice more in the third quarter to finish their damage. The Dinos continued to play hard throughout the game and added two more scores in the fourth,
Carbon was not able to get an extra point all evening and walked away with 18 points on the night.
Coach Salisbury was complimentary of his squads performance in their final game.
“It was nice to see the kids play hard for four quarters of play,” he commented. “They kept playing and did not quit.”
He admitted that North Sanpete wasn’t a powerhouse, but they came out and put points on the board, took advantage of Carbons mistakes and went away with the win.
Salisbury wasn’t pleased with the clash that ended with Archer’s ejection, but he thought that it did seem to spark the team into action after that. In the end he felt like he saw a little bit of pride and passion shown on the field in the final game.
As for players who made a difference, he was pleased with the efforts of JJ Blue.
“He made a critical catch and barreled his way down the field to give us that first score,” he stated. “His defense was also huge all night.”
Despite the fight in the game the evening did have it’s gentler and more civilized points as well.
In pre-game ceremonies, the exiting seniors for both the football team and cheerleading squad were honored with their parents.
Three Carbon football team members were also spotlighted for receiving academic all-region honors. Those players included JJ Blue, West Hunsaker and Steven Scow.