High school football: Turnovers lead to Bonneville victory over Weber

PLEASANT VIEW — The phrase "defensive struggle" might be a misnomer for this game — Bonneville's defense did anything but struggle. The Laker D recorded eight sacks and forced two late turnovers, both leading to touchdowns, as Bonneville broke open a tight game and defeated host Weber 20-2 Friday night in non-league action.

"Our defense is tough," said Bonneville coach Matt Williams. "We rolled them and took advantage of situations."

One of those situations came with about 5 minutes left in the game and Bonneville leading 7-2. On second-and-4 from the Weber 32, Bonneville defenders swarmed Warrior quarterback Dallin Adams and forced a fumble that was recovered by Austen Richards — punctuating what was a stellar effort by the front four all night.

Two plays later, Laker quarterback Todd Aubrey found Devin Mickles for a 30-yard scoring toss to put the game out of reach.

Richards, Connor Stephens, Chris Bogovic and Pat Gallagher made things difficult for Adams in the pocket. Bonneville's D-linemen swarmed him, and when they weren't sacking him, they forced him into several throwaways and had him scrambling on many occasions.

Williams had high praise for that unit and his assistants.

"The key to success is surrounding yourself with good people," he said. "I have one of the best coaching staffs in the state, and (assistant coach) Jantz Afutavi does a great job with the defense, especially with the line."

Bonneville took the lead for good early on an eight-play, 61-yard drive that ate up more than half the first quarter. Running back Adam Farnsworth dashed for 48 of those yards, capping it off with a two-yard scoring plunge.

Weber's defense buckled down after that, limiting Farnsworth to 24 yards the rest of the game, getting some key third-down stops and delivering some hard hits.

"(Farnsworth) was great, he hurt us a bit," said Weber head coach Richard Murray. "(Weber assistant coach Chad) Sims made some great adjustments, and we took care of that.

"I feel we hung in there right up to the end ... our young guys have to learn how to finish football games."

The Warriors' lone score came after a Bonneville special-teams miscue. On the second-half opening kickoff, Laker returner Sage Stireman caught the ball at the Bonneville four yard line and started the return, but his knee had hit the ground.

On the next play, the Weber defensive front converged on Aubrey and took him down in the end zone for the safety.

Stireman's gaffe didn't do much to tarnish what was an outstanding game for him on special teams — Warrior kick returners found themselves trying to outrun him a few times.

Stireman — also the Bonneville punter — helped his team avoid disaster in the fourth quarter. As Bonneville lined up to punt with the score still 7-2, the snap went over Stireman's head. The junior alertly recovered the ball around the Lakers' 10-yard line and got off a booming punt that was eventually downed at the Weber 24.

Manaia Filiaga's 5-yard run capped the scoring for Bonneville.

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