With a berth in the 4A state football semifinals on the line, Springville beat Wood Cross 16-12 in a real defensive showpiece in Springville on Friday afternoon.

"Our defense is our strength," Springville coach Scott Mitchell said. "It has consistently come up with the big plays. They have had a number of goal-line stands. They played well today."

This was especially true in the fourth quarter. On the opening play of the final stanza with Springville clinging to a 16-10 lead, the Wildcats were called for illegal procedure, which moved Woods Cross back to the Springville 15-yard line. A gang of Red Devils, led by Landon McKell and Caleb McCray, sacked the Wildcat quarterback, Tyler Parson, forcing him out of bounds. This made it fourth-and-13. Wood Cross attempted a field goal and it was no good, so Springville took over on downs from its 20-yard line.

From there, the Red Devils made a six-point lead stand to advance in playoff play, as Woods Cross only managed a safety in the final seconds of the game.

Springville struck first, scoring on an Alema Key 1-yard run in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Red Devils added a safety before a Steven Sperry field goal pulled the Wildcats within 9-3 at the half.

The Red Devils added to their lead in the third quarter when Steve Bate hit Taylor Baker for a 14-yard touchdown pass, making the score 16-3. But the Wildcats cut into the Springville lead with a CJ Corry 2-yard touchdown run and the ensuing extra point to set up the defensive heroics in the final quarter.

In the fourth, penalties and big defensive plays were the norm in a field position battle. Late in the quarter, Baker picked off a Woods Cross pass in the end zone. The Red Devils kneeled the ball three times, and then Bates ran out of the back of the end zone with 3.6 second left to give Woods Cross the ball back, but with a long field in front of it.

With a half-second on the clock, Wood Cross threw on the final play of the game and Zach Gardanier intercepted it to end the contest.

For the Red Devils, it was a tough day on offense.

"We had no rythmn on offense today," Mitchell said. "We had no success on first downs and we had a lot of negative yardage. They (Woods Cross) just played better offense than we did. We missed throw, we dropped passes and we had poor clock management in that last series (of the fourth quarter)."

And on a kinder note, Mitchell said, "We feel like we belong (in the playoffs)."

Springville will play Dixie in the state semifinals in Salt Lake City next Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Rice Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus.

Springville beat Dixie in the first game of the season, but Mitchell said that was "a lifetime ago."

"This is a new week and we will prepare for this game like we do for every game -- from the coaches to the players," the coach said.

Woods Cross 0 3 7 2 -- 12

Springville 0 9 7 0 -- 16

S-Alema Key 1 run (Thomas Day kick)

S-Team safety

WX-Steve Sperry 22 FG

S-Taylor Baker 14 pass from Steve Bate (Day kick)

WX-C.J. Corry 2 run (Sperry kick)

WX-Team safety

Related

• Springville riding high with trip to semifinals
• Red Devils survive late scare to advance to 4A title game