WOW, we made it to the playoffs! I'm so proud of our team. I am sad that this was Jon's senior year and no more high school football will be played by him. He is off to bigger and better things in his future. I'm excited to see him grow internally, physically and mentally as this next year he will be playing some college football.
Timpview fought until the end in playoff game against East
By Brandon Gurney
Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Timpview head coach Louis Wong has a knack for taking positives out of losses and looking on the bright side of things. Following Thursday's 24-10 semifinals loss to East he was remarkably upbeat and looking forward.
"Hats off to the T-Birds," he said immediately following the game. "We're back here and we're battling and we're fighting."
Fighting until the end has been a hallmark of this year's Timpview team. Throughout the season they've been able to eek out close wins, which included their quarterfinal win against Westlake.
They were poised to do the same against East, entering the fourth quarter down just 14-10, before untimely turnovers and too many long, sustained drives by the Leopards did them in.
"We finally shot ourselves in the foot one time too many — we couldn't come back from those holes," said Wong. "We had a lot of faith that we could come back and win this ball game, but unfortunately things didn't go our way."
Things did go Timpview's way early in the game as they benefitted from two early turnovers to jump out to a 10-0 lead. Things snow-balled for them after that, however, as East benefitted from three Thunderbird turnovers on their way to 24 straight points and the eventual victory.
A big factor in the game was the time of possession which East won by 10 total minutes along with the total yards which they won 371-187.
While fully crediting East for their great play, Wong didn't want to dwell on where they came up short, choosing to focus on the positives.
"We're glad that our program was able to come back to Rice-Eccles (stadium), a place that we love," he said. "I think our program is headed in the right direction and we'll continue to progress."
It was an uncommon Timpview team this season, not chock full of Division I talent like they are most years. Despite that, they were able to find themselves in the state playoff's semifinal win with a chance at the finals heading into the fourth quarter.
In the coming years, they'll aim to go even further, armed with a lot of key playmakers such as quarterback Jake Lloyd and receiver Dax Raymond, among others, who will both be returning next season.
"The level of difficulty for our team this year-it was more difficult," said Wong. "We probably didn't have the skill-type of players that we've had in the past."
