Provo's season ends on last-second field goal as Utah playoff quarterfinals deliver drama

Provo's football season ended the hardest way possible: watching an opponent's kick split the uprights as time expired. Josh Pinnock's 40-yard field goal with two seconds left gave No. 6 Skyline a 23-20 victory over No. 14 Provo in the 4A quarterfinals Friday night, ending the Bulldogs' run one win short of the final four.

The Provo-Skyline finish was the sharpest edge of a quarterfinal slate that also featured a 49-0 demolition, a 14-seed upset, and an undefeated team one win closer to a fourth straight state title.

Across 6A, 5A, and 4A, quarterfinal games were played Friday night. Here is what happened in each classification.

In 4A, other quarterfinals produced decisive or close results, with margins nearly as thin as Provo's loss in some cases.

The 5A bracket's biggest story was No. 14 Woods Cross, which stunned No. 6 Alta 31-24 to reach the program's first state semifinal under head coach Brody Benson. Tage Ita carried the Wildcats with two rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown, and a 24-7 halftime cushion that proved just enough to survive Alta's 17-point fourth-quarter rally. Madden McCallister's 25-yard field goal with 3:12 left pulled the Hawks within 31-24, but Woods Cross held on.

No. 1 West (12-0) made the least suspenseful statement of the night, shutting out No. 8 Fremont 49-0. It was the Panthers' fifth consecutive shutout. Kamden Lopati scored on the ground and through the air, and Dieter Lotulelei returned a fumble 15 yards for a score. Fremont's Calvin Cooper-led offense never found an answer against what the Deseret News describes as 5A's top-ranked defense.

No. 4 Bountiful edged No. 5 Springville 23-17 on Manu Tia's 2-yard touchdown run with just over ten minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Redhawks' defense, which had not allowed a point in three straight games entering Friday, gave up only a late field goal after taking a 23-14 lead. The win extended Bountiful's winning streak to nine games. No. 2 Orem overcame a 13-0 first-half deficit against No. 10 Pleasant Grove, with Tanner Lewis — 20 touchdowns, one interception on the season — throwing three second-half scores in a 35-16 win.

In 6A, the most anticipated matchup pits undefeated No. 2 Mountain Ridge (12-0) against No. 3 Corner Canyon in the semifinals. Mountain Ridge dismantled No. 7 Lone Peak 42-3 behind Jaxon Hunt's three touchdown passes and a defense that held Lone Peak scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Sentinels are averaging 45.9 points per game, the best mark in 6A. Corner Canyon, chasing a fourth consecutive state title under first-year coach Casey Sutera, handled No. 11 Syracuse 42-6. Jaxon Pehrson, who has thrown or run for 32 touchdowns this season, scored twice.

No. 4 Herriman eliminated No. 5 Davis 36-22 in the other 6A quarterfinal, with Filisi Filipe — who rushed for more than 1,500 yards this season — scoring twice in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 2-yard run at 10:10 of the final period. Herriman advances past the quarterfinal round for the first time since last year, when they fell at this stage. No. 1 Skyridge held off No. 8 American Fork 28-21, with quarterback Jagger Fountaine accounting for three touchdowns and Eli Mortensen adding an 18-yard rushing score and a 74-yard receiving touchdown.

Semifinals are scheduled for the following week across all three classifications.

Why it matters — For Provo fans, Friday marked the end of the season on the cruelest of margins; for the rest of Utah, the semifinal field is now set with an undefeated Mountain Ridge, a dynasty-chasing Corner Canyon, and a Woods Cross team nobody saw coming.

Sources differ on Orem vs. Pleasant Grove final score: 35-16 (deseret.com (article body)) vs 28-16 (deseret.com (web summary))

Reported by deseret.com, ksl.com, heraldextra.com