The Sky View Bobcats used six different players in scoring nine times cementing a decisive 63-14 win over the Ogden Tigers. The Bobcats move to 2-5-0 Overall (1-2-0 Region), in a thrilling game filled with twists, turns, and various personnel changes throughout the game.

To say that the Sky View Bobcat football team was operating on all cylinders against the Ogden Tigers would be an understatement. In last night’s game the Bobcats scored first, scored last, and scored many times in between. The offense would not be denied as they went on a scoring frenzy in Ogden, racking up 447 yards of total offense scoring seven times on the ground, adding two more in the air, for a total of nine touchdowns on the night. Josh Egbert was flawless adding nine extra points, and got a workout with 10 kickoff’s that averaged 54.3 yards per kick. The offense was nearly perfect on the night, not committing any turnovers, pounding the ball out on the ground, and lighting up the Tiger defense in the air, scoring on nearly every drive with only two resulting in punts. Head coach Craig Anhder said, “Our offense was much more consistent, with the exception of the last two drives of the first half, I just felt really solid about the way our offense performed.”

Senior, Gabe Anderson, started at the quarterback spot, and played that position sporadically throughout the game, relinquishing those duties to sophomore, Nick Carver early in the first quarter. However, Anderson’s contributions in the game were monumental. Anderson scored three times on the ground in the first quarter, leading the team in rushing yards with 136 yards on 7 carries. Anderson was 1-for-1 passing on the night, and also hauled in a 15 yard pass from Carver. As if that weren’t enough Anderson had the only kick return of the night adding 28 more yards. Anderson who had been struggling at the quarterback position in past weeks seems to have found a groove leaving this reporter wondering if he shouldn’t steal the nickname of “Slash” from former Pittsburg Steeler, and NFL great Cordell Stewart. Anhder had nothing but praise for Anderson saying, “I think you saw some of his athletic ability and we took advantage of that pretty early in the game.” Anhder continued, “Gabe was just playing Gabe football there, he wasn’t tense, he was loose, and he just ran all over them.”

It was not just the Gabe Anderson show in the game last night, however; many offensive players contributed to the Bobcat success. Seven different Sky View receivers caught passes in the game, including a 38 yard touchdown grab by senior, Brady Martin, and a 53 yard touchdown hauled in by junior, Corey Jensen. Carver was 9-of-14 passing, tossing the two Sky View passing TD’s.

The ground game was handled by a committee of runners also. Nine different ball carriers handled the ball. In addition to Anderson’s three rushing touchdowns two other Bobcats found pay dirt carrying the ball. Senior, Jens Jorgensen, took one in from 7 yards out capping off a well engineered drive. Senior, Tyson Holden, until tonight had not seen much game time this year. Given a chance to handle the ball Holden, made the most of each opportunity he was given, in his 4 carries he racked up 40 yards rushing. With 1:56 left in the game, Holden took a Carver handoff from ten yards out and pounded, spun, and with an undeniable resolve, and stern refusal to be denied the end zone, he flew over the goal line. In adding the final score of the evening Holden put an exclamation point on a well played offensive game. “It was great to see Tyson Holden get that score. That kid has worked his heart out for four years, and to see him get that touchdown was kind of the icing on the cake tonight”, commented Anhder. In speaking of the changes that were made and whether it would be something they would use in the remaining games this season Anhder said, “I think it is something we’ll continue with, I think it just accentuates each of their talents even more.”

If I were to close this report right now you would have a pretty good indication of how the game went. You wouldn’t however have the entire picture as the Bobcat defense played out of their heads. The defense only gave up 138 yards on the night of which only 17 came from the Ogden ground game. The stingy defense only allowed a couple of Tiger drives to get deep into Sky View territory of which only one resulted in points. Leading the defense once again was the consistently tenacious play of senior, Jordan Nielsen, who had 3 solo tackles, 6 assists, 1 solo QB sack, 1 assist on a QB sack, and a couple of QB hurries. Senior, Jaren Balls, had 2 solo tackles, 2 assists, and 3 QB Sacks. Senior, Coby Villanueva also registered a sack, a QB sack assist, and was in on 2 other tackles. Senior, Landon Siddoway, added a pair of solo tackles and a couple of assists. Conner Chambers also had 2 solo tackles.

It wasn’t just the boys in the trenches that contributed to the great defensive night. The defensive backs had a very prolific night with three interceptions, all coming with huge yards after the catch. Starting off a pair of senior’s with picks was Keaton Smith who hauled one in and then took the ball the other way 33 yards. Senior, Colton Arave took one back 24 yards, while junior, Yabitse Wells had one go for 18 yards. In speaking of the defensive play Anhder said, “I was really pleased with the defense, they needed to step up, and I thought they did a great job of stopping the run, also protecting the pass, and also getting some turnovers.”

If there were any chinks in the Sky View armor they came on a couple of special teams miscues. With just under six minutes left in the fourth Ogden’s Zac Annis took a kick off with one foot in the end zone and another in the field of play. Behind some good blocks Annis weaved his way through the Bobcat coverage until he found pay dirt returning the ball 100 yards for a score. The other notable special teams hiccup came on the final punt reception of the night when senior, Blake McKinley mishandled the punt and gave the ball back to the Tigers after a fumble.

The insurmountable lead that the Bobcats built allowed Anhder the freedom to get some of the younger players some valuable playing time, and almost every player got some time on the field.

After the toughest pre-season in recent Sky View history, and some disappointing losses to region foes in Box Elder, and valley rival Logan, this victory was a welcome relief to the Sky View team. The win was enjoyed and appreciated by the faithful fans that traveled to Ogden for the contest, all having chose to skip the USU route of BYU.

Anhder and crew went back to the drawing board, mixed things up, moved some people around, and used a variety of players in various ways. The changes and new looks, made for exciting football. The team seemed rejuvenated having responded well to the game plan of the coaches. Spirits were high, the “Band of Brothers” seemed more unified, and the team hummed like a well oiled machine.

The Bobcat machine will need to be operating in peak condition next week when they host the Lakers of Bonneville high. The game is scheduled to take place at Hansen Field in Smithfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. With the UEA break taking place the following week the Bobcats will have a week off to heal up, re-charge their batteries, and come up with a winning game plan before making the short drive to Hyrum to take on the Cache Valley rival Mountain Crest Mustangs on October 21st, at 7:00 p.m.

Stats

First Quarter

Sky View: Gabe Anderson 43 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 7-0 10:09
Sky View: Gabe Anderson 14 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 14-0 5:50
Sky View: Gabe Anderson 22 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 21-0 0:56

Second Quarter

Sky View: Brady Martin 38 yard pass from Nick Carver (Josh Egbert – Kick) 28-0 11:54
Sky View: Nick Carver 10 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 35-0 8:15

Third Quarter

Sky View: Zach Allen 6 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 42-0 9:20
Ogden: Zac Annis 99 yard kickoff return (Spencer Smith – Kick) 42-7 9:04
Sky View: Corey Jensen 53 yard pass from Nick Carver (Josh Egbert – Kick) 49-7 6:43

Fourth Quarter

Sky View: Jens Jorgensen 7 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 56-7 11:45
Ogden: Spencer Smith 35 yard pass from Anthony Sattiewhite (Spencer Smith – Kick) 56-14 5:53
Sky View: Tyson Holden 9 yard run (Josh Egbert – Kick) 63-14 1:56

Individual Stats

Passing: Gabe Anderson 1-for-1, 7 yards; Nick Carver 9-for-14, 173 yards, 2 TD’s.

Receiving: Brady Martin: 3 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD; Corey Jensen: 1 reception, 53 yards, 1 TD; Blake McKinley: 2 receptions, 18 yards; Gabe Anderson: 1 reception, 15 yards; Don Corbell: 1 reception, 14 yards; Jordan Hill: 1 reception, 6 yards; Jens Jorgensen: 1 reception, 6 yards.

Rushing: Gabe Anderson: 7carries 136 yards, 3 TD’s; Tyson Holden: 4 carries 40 yards, 1 TD, Sean Gero: 2 carries 29 yards; Jens Jorgensen: 6 carries 24 yards, 1 TD; Nick Carver: 4 carries 19 yards, 1 TD; Zach Allen: 1 carry 6 yards, 1 TD; Brandon Burger: 1 carry 6 yards; Taylor Larson: 1 carry 6 yards; Alex Watts: 2 carries 1 yard.

Kickoff: Josh Egbert: 10 Kicks, Average 54.3 yards, 2 touchbacks.

Kick Return: Gabe Anderson: 1 return, 28 yards.

Punts: Jordan Nielsen: 1 punt, 41 yards; Don Corbell: 1 punt, 65 yards.

Punt Return: Blake McKinley: 2 returns, Average 4.3 yards, 1 Fumble

Team Stats

Sky View: Rushing: 267 yards, Receiving: 180 yards, Total: 447 yards, Penalties: 8-for-85 yards.
Ogden: Rushing: 17 yards, Receiving: 121 yards, Total: 138 yards, Penalties: 4-for-25 yards.