Friday night’s game between Virgin Valley and Sunrise Mountain High Schools was a barnburner as expected. The teams, battled back and forth all night, before the Dawgs took a 30-27 lead late in the fourth quarter on a Lane Ramos field go from 20 yards out. The Miners still had the opportunity late to pull it out as they drove from their won 5 yard line helped by two consecutive 15 yard penalties before setting up a field goal attempt with .1 second remaining in the game. Their attempt was long enough but sailed wide to the delight of the Bulldog faithful. “We battled on every play,” said Bulldog coach Yori Ludvigson. “The kids were excited to play such a good team.” Jayden Perkins had a monstrous day for the Dawgs with 219 yards on the ground plus 58 yards on receptions.

The Bulldogs won the toss to begin the game and began play on their 30 yard line. Two Perkins runs netted only 7 yards forcing a four and out for the Dawgs. A poor kick set up the Miners with a first down on the Bulldogs 45 yard line. Two plays later, Miner running back Trayvon Ward stood in the end zone after a 38 yard scamper, giving the Miners first blood. The point after was .good and the Miners led 7-0 with a little more than two minutes off the game clock. Former Bulldog coach Chris Sawyers call for an onside kick by the Miners did not surprise the Dawgs as they recovered on their 47 yard line. The Bulldogs made them pay as Perkins handled the ball five times going over from the one yard line. Ramos extra point was good tying the game 7-7 with .55 seconds remaining in the first period. The defenses took over for the rest of the half before the Dawgs began a long drive from their own 33 yard line. Perkins handled the ball 10 times during the drive before a bad hand off stopped the Dawgs on a fumble. The dawgs forced another stop on the Miners. The Bulldogs called time out with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to get another shot at a touchdown. The ploy backfired as the Dawgs fumbled the ball away on their own 20 yard marker. The momentum swung back to the Miners who scored with 11 seconds remaining in the half. The PAT was blocked making the score 13-7 in favor of the Miners.

The Bulldog defense began the second half with a vengeance to begin the second half. The Dawgs forced a Miners punt which was blocked by Perkins and ran back 20 yards by Easton Jensen for a T.D. The PAT was blocked keeping the score 13-13. Three Bulldog sacks forced another Miners punt giving the Dawgs the ball on the Miners 47 yard line. The Dawgs took advantage of the good field position running Perkins for the final 20 yards and a T. D. Ramos PAT was good and the Dawgs took the lead for the first time 20-13. The Miners, not to be denied roared back behind the arm of Q.B. Tyree Hayes to score quickly to tie the game up 20-20. The Bulldogs kick returner made a huge mistake touching the ball before going out of bounds on the Dawgs 17 yard line. Perkins ripped off two huge plays, a run of 28 yards and a reception from Cade Anderson of 20 yards giving the Dawgs a first and ten from the Miners 35 yard line. A Bulldog fumble forced a Bulldog punt. The Bulldog coaches called for a fake which fooled no one in the stadium including the Miners coaching staff. The Punter was stopped on the 50 yard line giving the Miners possession. Hayes ripped the Dawgs defense on a Q.B. keeper for 30 yard and a first down on the Dawgs 20 yard line as time expired in the third quarter. Hayes wasted little time hitting Xavier Kyles for 20 yards and a T.D six seconds into the final period. The PAT was good as the Miners retook the lead 27-20. The Bulldogs responded with a T.D. of their own as Perkins broke through the Miners defensive line and out raced Miner defenders for 74 yard and a T.D. knotting the game up 27-27. It was time for the Bulldog defense to shine as they forced a Hayes fumble. Sophomore Tanners Fielding recovered for the Dawgs giving them great field position on the Miners 30 yard line. The Bulldogs were stopped on the 10 yard line setting up Ramos for his winning field goal. The Dawg defense forced another Miners fumble on the kickoff. Broghan Bingham recovered for the Dawgs. The celebration was short lived as the Dawgs drove down the field but fumbled on the 5 yard line giving the Miners hope with 2:02 remaining in the game. The Miners then drove down the field helped by two penalties to set up a tying field goal with 1 second remaining in the game. The attempt sailed wide ending the game. “We had an all-around good game,” said Coach Ludvigson. “Our defense played well and our special teams on both sides of the kept us in the game. They are (Sunrise Mountain) a very athletic team and we were fortunate to come out with a win. We (coaches) made a couple bad calls put still pulled it out.”