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Arbor View made its fans sweat Friday night. The Aggies erased a two-score deficit, took the lead, lost it, and scored with seconds left in the game to seal the win — all within a matter of heart-pounding moments.
The Aggies squeaked out a thriller against American Fork (Utah), punching in the game-winning touchdown with 16 seconds left to earn a 35-34 victory.
“I told the kids we expected something like this tonight,” Arbor View coach Matt Gerber said. “We knew that if we could get it close and get some momentum that we would start to wear them down and that’s exactly what happened.”
Arbor View trailed by as much as 21-0 in the game and 28-14 in the fourth quarter, but had a few tricks up its sleeve. The Aggies, who make a living on the ground with a double-wing offense, went to the air for a 38-yard touchdown to make it 28-21. That was just the start.
With three minutes remaining in the game, American Fork lined up to kick a field goal that would have given it a 10-point lead and making Arbor View’s chances at a comeback slim. Instead, the Aggies blocked the kick and returned it to the house. Instead of kicking to tie it, Arbor View went for two and seized a 29-28 lead.
American Fork though, made it interesting. The Cavemen marched down the field to reclaim the lead at 34-29, and gave the Aggies one last chance to win it. And win it they did. Darius Williams powered his way into the end zone with 16 seconds left to give Arbor View the victory, their second in as many weeks.
“We knew we were going to get another shot to get down the field and we had an 80-yard march,” Gerber said. “It was what we know we could do.”
Justin Emerson can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Justin on Twitter at twitter.com/@j15emerson.