Notes from the Battle for the Rock

Last night’s Battle for the Rock proved significant for many reasons for both teams.

For Skyline, it marked the 300th game with Roger Dupaix as the Eagles’ head coach. The occasion was celebrated in a quiet manner, with an extra zero added to the 30 at each 30 yard line.

For Olympus, a 31-24 victory represented the first time that the Titans had won two in a row in the rivalry series since running off seven straight victories from 1980 to 1986. It also was the first time Olympus had beaten a Dupaix coached Skyline team in back-to-back seasons.

The game was an exciting, hard-fought contest. It was marred a bit by a brief scuffle between several Olympus and Skyline players after Austin Elwell picked off a pass on the final play. Tempers flared when a Skyline player gave Elwell a late hit out of bounds.

Fortunately, the coaches on both sides kept things from getting completely out of hand and players for the Titans were ushered off the field – foregoing the customary post-game handshakes.

(On a personal note, I wish there had not been a need for them to leave in such haste as it forced me to literally chase the Olympus coaches and team halfway to their team bus so I could get my post-game interviews.)

Here are some additional notes I wasn’t able to discuss in depth in my game article in Saturday’s Deseret News sports section:

- It can’t be understated just how much of a difference maker Cole Benson was with his fantastic special teams play.

Benson returned three kickoffs and totaled 134 yards on those returns. His first return of 56 yards set up an easy Olympus touchdown on their opening drive of the first quarter. Benson’s final return of 35 yards to open the third quarter set up another Titan touchdown that made it 24-14 with 9:35 left in the quarter.

- I felt like momentum really changed in the game on the final play of the first quarter. Up to that point, Olympus had done absolutely nothing to slow the Skyline offense.

The Eagles turned the game’s opening possession into a seven play 65 yard scoring drive that ended on a 5 yard keeper by Michael Pell that made it 7-0. On Skyline’s next possession, they covered 81 yards on five plays and went up 14-7 when C.J. Ubani broke free down the sideline for a 43 yard touchdown gallop. The Eagles took only five plays to move from their own 32 to the Olympus 7-yard line on their third possession, but Taylor Lithgow fumbled out of the end zone on the very next play for a touchback.

From that moment on, the tide turned for both teams. Olympus scored a field goal on its ensuing possession to make it 14-10 and then punched in a go-ahead touchdown on the subsequent drive after that. Skyline went from accumulating 199 yards in the first quarter to just 14 in the second.

- Injuries proved costly to Skyline. Both Andy Rounds and Nick Johnson left the game with serious injuries and did not return. It will be a big blow to the Eagles if either player is out for an extended period. Rounds was expected to be the team’s top tailback this season and Johnson was a key leader on an experienced offensive line.

- Turnovers were a killer for Skyline. Pell threw an interception on the final play of each half and Lithgow’s end zone fumble wiped out a potential touchdown. But Olympus offset some of those miscues with some bad mistakes of its own. The Titans started a late third quarter drive at the Eagle 10, following a bad snap on a punt, and Brooks Green promptly fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage. That set up Skyline’s final touchdown – a 1 yard run by Pell – that made it 24-21 with 9:16 left in the game. Both teams also combined for 17 penalties.

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