Rigby handed Hillcrest its first home loss in a 49-39 contest

AMMON – Hillcrest had avoided defeat on its newly minted home stadium for most of the season.

But on Friday night, the Knights, previously 0-3 at home, suffered their first loss on Westmark Stadium’s brand new turf as the Rigby Trojans defeated Hillcrest 49-39 in a high-scoring offensive battle.

The game really didn’t have much meaning for either team, and it certainly didn’t have much meaning
Playoff camp. But that didn’t affect how either team showed up on the field on Hillcrest’s senior night.

Aside from the playoff impact and district titles, both Rigby and Hillcrest showed almost every game they had in their offensive books. Or rather, they showed holes in their defensive books.

Hillcrest opened the game with a flea flicker that didn’t gain any yards, but answered minutes later when Knights quarterback Tyson Sweetwood ran for a 26-yard touchdown.

Already crowned the 5-6 6A district champion, Rigby went into Friday night’s game at a solid 6-1, winning its final six games. The Trojans earned two straight wins over previously undefeated 6A opponents Highland and Madison. A Rigby win seemed like a sure thing.

That’s what the Rigby crowd felt, filling the entire visitors’ stand and streaming to the sidelines. But the quick seven points on the court for Hillcrest to open the game changed the tension in the air. Victory was not a sure thing. The Trojans had to work hard to put one in the win column.

For Rigby head coach Armando Gonzalez, this game was all about moving forward.
“I don’t think it was a matter of taking it seriously,” Gonzalez said after the game. “It comes down to us getting better in every game, gaining some momentum and getting ready to play good football in October, November and for the playoffs.”

Hillcrest led the game 31-28 at halftime. The Knights took advantage of an undisciplined Trojan defense on their final drive of the second quarter. Rigby took quick successive penalties that brought the Knights’ offense to the Trojans’ 13-yard line. Sweetwood finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown to secure the halftime lead.

Rigby had no trouble finding the end zone. But they didn’t stop either.

Gonzalez said the failed high-scoring offense means nothing if they can’t improve their holes on defense.

“Defensively we weren’t very strong,” Gonzalez said. “We made enough mistakes there
capitalized on it and did a good job. They did a good job getting the ball to their best players.

“We just had to get used to it. We made far too many mistakes.”

Gonzalez said a big part of the game came from the “big plays.” Elimination of the unique,
Breakthrough games that ensure teams win will be key to the Trojans’ success in the postseason.

Sweetwood led the Knights with several game-changing plays that Gonzalez mentioned. He ended
The game ran for 225 yards and ran for 104. He threw two touchdowns and ran in
three themselves.

After the game, Sweetwood said he was proud of his team’s performance against a bigger, stronger Rigby squad and noted that a narrow loss to a ranked 6A opponent was “not the end of the world.”

“I’m proud of our boys,” he said. “We fought all night but came up a little short.”

Rigby quarterback Jacob Flowers passed for 76 yards, ran for 107 and walked with three
rushing touchdowns. The Rigby offense found most of its success on the ground, with 60 rushing yards from running back Jerzey Duenes.

Wide receiver Owen Golding got the Trojans started by returning a kickoff nearly 100 yards for the score after Hillcrest took an early 7-0 lead.

“If we want to keep playing, we have to fix a lot of things that went wrong in this game,” Gonzalez said. “We still have a long way to go to become a really good football team.”

Hillcrest will finish its regular season next week at Idaho Falls. Rigby will be at Thunder Ridge.