Skyline is headed to the 4A semifinals.
Josh Pinnock's 40-yard field goal with two seconds left on Nov. 6 lifted the No. 6 Eagles past No. 14 Provo, 23-20, in the quarterfinals. Skyline (9-3) will face No. 2 Hurricane (11-1) at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Rice-Eccles Stadium, according to KSL.
It is the deepest playoff run in years for the Holladay program. Coach Brandon Matich, in his first season at Skyline after winning titles at East in 2015 and 2016, had been trying to push the Eagles past the quarterfinal round, according to a Deseret News preview published before the Provo game. Skyline's last state championship came in 2005.
The quarterfinal win did not come easy. Provo took the lead early in the fourth quarter on Teave Brown's 3-yard scoring run, KUTV reported. Tate Johnson answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Will Black. Then Pinnock sealed it with the field goal as time expired.
Johnson finished with two touchdown passes. Judah Valle scored twice for the Eagles, according to KSL's roundup.
Skyline enters the semifinal on a seven-game winning streak. The Eagles won the Region 10 title outright at 6-0, beating Highland 37-23 on the road and Murray 41-7. Their three losses all came in nonregion play: 14-10 to Stansbury and lopsided defeats to 6A quarterfinalists Lone Peak and Skyridge.
The offense runs through Johnson, Jonah Mailei and Valle. Johnson has thrown for 1,840 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, though his 11 interceptions are a concern. Mailei has rushed for 966 yards and nine touchdowns at 8.3 yards per carry. Valle has 12 total touchdowns across rushing, receiving and returns. Will Finau averages 23.1 yards per catch with eight touchdown receptions.
Defensively, the Eagles have forced 15 interceptions and scored five defensive touchdowns. Liam Whitworth leads with four picks. Aniti Paiva has 62 tackles and five sacks.
Hurricane presents a different challenge. The Tigers average 40.5 points per game, third in 4A, and allow just 13.4, the best mark in the classification. Titan Borchardt has rushed for 1,231 yards and 15 touchdowns. Quarterback Kannon Cowan has thrown 14 touchdown passes against only three interceptions and rushed for 11 more scores.
Hurricane barely survived its own quarterfinal, needing overtime to beat No. 7 Salem Hills 29-28. Borchardt scored the go-ahead touchdown, and Drake Gines converted the two-point attempt.
In Deseret News coverage published in October, Matich said after Skyline's Region 10 win over Highland: "I'm proud of these kids. They put in a lot of time, and this was a big moment for them … Skyline has had a hard time getting over this Highland hump, and they were able to do it tonight."
The Eagles have cleared bigger hurdles since. Kickoff against Hurricane is 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
