Provo • The Timpview Thunderbirds displayed one sterling example of bend-but-not-break defense Friday night.
But what really won a Region 7 battle for the Thunderbirds were the occasions they used interceptions to break the visiting Alta Hawks.
That happened four times as Timpview edged Alta 19-17 to rebound from a thumping at the hands of top-ranked Corner Canyon in Week 6.
“Last week we weren’t ready at all. But this week we came prepared,” said Thunderbirds cornerback Tevita Foketi, who picked off two Alta passes.
“These are mentally tough kids. They believed they would win,” Timpview coach Cary Whittingham said. “The kids just wanted to get it done. They showed it on the field.”
The winning points came from kicker Jake Simpson when he split the uprights with a 34-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
PLAYER OF THE GAME <br>Cornerback Tevita Foketi came into the game with one interception, but he grabbed two more against the Hawks. Both picks came in the first half, and the second put an end to a 60-yard drive just before intermission.
It was the fourth field goal of the day for Simpson. The only touchdown for the home team was a 12-yard scoring run by Amoni Tuha late in the first quarter.
After Simpson’s last kick, Alta (3-3, 1-1) opted to go with reserve quarterback Indy Hanson. But the final two possessions with Hanson at the helm fizzled for the visitors.
Will Dana, Alta’s starting quarterback, threw for 268 yards and was particularly effective in finding receiver Zach Engtrom, who finished with 164 yards receiving.
But an interception by Beau Tu’ua, which set up the last scoring drive for Timpview (4-2, 1-1), prompted the Hawks’ QB switch.
“He was struggling, so we just felt like we had to make a change, change up the rhythm a little bit,” Alta coach Alema Te’o said. “Props to those guys. They came out and defended him really well.”
Alta took a 17-13 lead on a 19-yard field goal by Jett Sollis with 20 seconds left in the third. But that was after the Hawks moved the ball from their own 1 to the Timpview 1 but had to settle for three points.
“You know what, we were very disappointed in that,” Te’o said. “We should have punched that in.”
The Hawks also put together an effective drive at the end of the first half, moving 60 yards in 1 minute, 17 seconds. But with the ball at the Timpview 15, a Dana throw to the right flat was picked by Foketi.
“I was just playing my coverage,” said Foketi, who also snared an interception on Alta’s previous drive. “I saw it coming. I read the quarterback’s eyes and I just had to make that interception.”
The defensive backs “saved out butts a few times with their interceptions,” Whittingham said.