Emotion and talent can be a rollercoaster ride sometimes.
And make no mistake, Skyridge junior linebackers Kani Taufa and Blayden Togiai embodied the kind of ups and downs that Skyridge fandom can relate to during a second-half stretch in the Falcons’ 34-33 victory over Corner Canyon in Thursday’s Class 5A state semifinal.
Skyridge had a chance to stop a Chargers drive deep into Falcons territory while trailing 26-20. But Taufa and Togiai threatened blitz on fourth-and-6 but jumped the gun, getting called for offsides.
But Taufa, now facing fourth-and-1, made up for it with a sterling solo tackle on running back Caden Johnson to end the drive.
However Taufa was called for taunting on the play, and although Skyridge kept possession, the offense was forced to start on its own 14.
It turned out just fine for the Falcons because Skyridge quarterback Jayden Clemons found Alex Pamer for an 86-yard touchdown pass.
“When we make the right plays at the right time, it’s all good,” Falcons coach Jon Lehman said.
Both Togiai and Taufa are no strangers to the sideline at Rice-Eccles Stadium. They’re being recruited by Utah, so they’ve attended several games this season.
“There’s no better experience than coming into this stadium and playing on this field,” Taufa said. “It was a great pleasure and opportunity.”
Togiai led the Falcons with nine solo tackles, including four stops for loss, as well as five more assisted tackles.
Taufa, in addition to three tackles and four assists, had a sack and an interception.
“They’re vital to our defense,” Lehman said. “They’re great athletes, and we ask them to do a lot in terms of stopping the run and man coverage, zone coverage and getting our defense set.”
Emotions went into overdrive when Corner Canyon’s would-be game-winning field-goal attempt squirted past the holder and Togiai was in on the final stop.
Even if he ends up being a Ute and making more big plays on the same field, none of that mattered to Togiai as he raced toward the sideline in excitement.
“I’m not really worried about the future right now. I was worried about what was going on right now in this stadium,” Togiai said. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid. When we came out here, we wanted to win. We didn’t just want one game at Rice-Eccles. We wanted two.”