T-birds rally

QB Covey leads Timpview to win after trailing by two TDs.

By Tony Jones

The Salt Lake Tribune

Provo • Timpview found itself down a touchdown at the end of the first quarter in Friday’s matchup against Alta.

The Thunderbirds found themselves down two scores in the middle of the second period. Then, as Timpview coach Louis Wong put it, his team decided to “show some heart and play harder.”

The results were tangible.

With a 41-27 win over Alta, the Thunderbirds showed just why a Class 4A state title for this program is more of a rite of passage than a mere hope or a goal. Timpview dominated the second half. It ran the ball whenever and wherever it wanted. It balanced that out with an explosive passing game, and the defense held the Hawks to seven points after halftime.

“We just needed to minimalize our mistakes,” Wong said. “We switched from a zone on defense to man-to-man, and we thought that we just needed to play a little bit better and make better adjustments.”

Because they made the correct adjustments, these are two teams heading in opposite directions. The Thunderbirds are 3-0 on the season, and looking like prohibitive favorites to win their fifth consecutive Class 4A championship. On the other side, Alta is 0-3. And while those three losses have been to three of the best teams in the state, (Cottonwood and Bingham are the other two), the Hawks have turned the ball over too much and are having serious problems stopping the run.

“It’s been the story of our season so far,” Alta coach Les Hamilton said. “We just haven’t been able to finish. We knew coming into this game that we needed to score 35 points to win. But we didn’t get it done. But we’ll bounce back.”

Alta held leads of 6-0 and 20-6.

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