The Sky View Bobcats Finish Strong against the Ogden Tigers to Remain Undefeated in Region 5 Play

SMITHFIELD—Anxious Sky View fans looked on Friday night as the visiting Ogden Tigers took a 14-7 lead early in the second half after Ogden quarterback Nik Allred connected with wide receiver Kel Robbins on a 66-yard touchdown pass.

With both teams struggling to score points in the first half, the Bobcats 4-game winning streak appeared to be in jeopardy. That’s when Sky View reeled off 33 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Tigers convincingly, 40-20.

The Ogden Tigers (5-2, 1-1) entered the game with the highest scoring offense in the state, averaging 40 points per game. The Sky View Bobcats (5-2, 2-0) stepped onto the field undefeated in games against Region 5 opponents. The Bobcats turned in a strong second half to remain undefeated in Region 5 play.

Sky View quarterback Kyler Carlsen had three scoring strikes on the night, hooking up twice with wide receiver Tanner Hunt on 57- and 58-yard touchdown receptions and once with tight end Brad Lenkersdorfer for a 22-yard touchdown reception.

Carlsen also finished the night with a 14-yard rushing touchdown, while running backs Chris Bennion and Shaun Harris added rushing touchdowns of their own of 24 and 6 yards, respectively.

Sky View’s defense was spearheaded by Jordan Nielsen, who finished the night with five solo tackles and 14 assists. Josh Hilton, Colby Villanueva, Jordan Hill and Colton Arave all contributed multiple tackles to the Bobcats’ defensive effort, as well.

Ogden’s Allred kept the Bobcat defense on its heels during the first half with his scrambling ability. Allred dropped back to pass several times and, with no open receivers, was able to gain positive yardage running the ball.

In the second half, however, Sky View was able to get through the Ogden offensive line and make Allred throw under pressure. Allred finished the night with two interceptions.

“I give them a lot of credit,” said Sky View head coach Craig Anhder of Ogden’s football team. “[Allred] is a good athlete, first of all. He just made some big passes.”

“That’s one thing we did address at halftime: if we’re going to touch him, we’ve got to tackle him, and I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half.”

If Allred wasn’t throwing the ball deep down field during the first half, he was scrambling to find an open gap in the defensive attack.

“We knew he liked to pass,” said Sky View linebacker Colby Villanueva of Allred. “But we knew he liked to run even more, so we were prepared for that.”

The Bobcats and Tigers struggled with mistakes early. Sky View fumbled on their first offensive drive and got flagged for several penalties during the first half of the game, while Ogden fumbled twice in the first quarter. The first half was a defensive battle.

“In the first half we had some trouble,” said Sky View wide receiver Tanner Hunt. “We didn’t start out strong. We were making a lot of mistakes.”

The Bobcats scored as time ran out in the first quarter with Carlsen’s first touchdown pass of the night to Hunt, capping off a 4-play, 67-yard scoring drive.

Both defenses kept the opposing offenses out of the end zone until Ogden’s Allred hit wide receiver Kel Robbins for a 24-yard touchdown strike with 55 seconds left in the first half. The Bobcats felt they hadn’t played their best football in the first half.

“We didn’t make any adjustments [at half time],” said Anhder. “In the first half, we were really beating ourselves: the fumbles, the mistakes, the penalties.”

“I felt like we were missing tackles more than anything,” he said.

Anhder said that he felt like his team settled down in the second half. “Once we got in our rhythm,” he said, “that’s how we want to play the whole game.”

After Ogden took the lead just minutes into the third quarter, the Bobcats needed a big play to swing the momentum in their favor. Two series later, after an Ogden interception, Sky View tied the game with Carlsen’s second touchdown pass of the night to Hunt and kicker Brock Warren added the extra point to even the score. They wouldn’t trail again.

Minutes later Ogden’s Allred threw another interception, and the Bobcats pounced, scoring four more touchdowns in the second half and putting the game out of reach for the Tigers.

“Ogden has a great offense, so it shows a lot for our defense to stop them on those important plays and give us a chance to score,” said Hunt.

Ogden scored its final touchdown in the final minutes with an 8-yard pass from Allred to Jake Buck.

Ogden’s kicker Demetrius Harris finished the night 2 for 2 on extra points, while Sky View’s Warren finished the night 4 for 5 on extra points. Both teams attempted two-point conversions and neither converted.

The Bobcats improve to 6-2 overall and remain undefeated in Region 5 play at 3-0. Ogden falls to 5-3 for the season and 1-2 against Region 5 opponents.

Sky View travels to Ogden next Friday to take on the Lakers of Bonneville High School at 7 p.m.