Grantsville picked the best time to take the lead for the first time in Wednesday night’s game with cross-county rival Tooele.

Junior running back Bryce Ekins found a big hole on the left side of the line and sprinted 20 yards into the end zone to give the Cowboys a 35-28 advantage with 58 seconds left in the game.

Tooele did manage to run the ball to midfield in the waning moments of the contest, but a clipping penalty brought it back to the Buffalo 15. Grantsville defensive linemen Dakota Leatham and Ben Tripp then sacked Tooele quarterback Milo Leakehe on a fourth-and-19. All Grantsville quarterback Bridger Boman needed to do then was take a snap and kneel down on the next play and the celebration began for the Cowboys with their 35-28 victory.

“It was a great football game; both teams were not going to let up,” said Grantsville coach Tony Cloward. “We had a lot of incentives going into this game and it was big because wins have been hard to come by for both teams. It was a huge victory considering we were the underdogs going up against a 4A team with a great coach and against our cross-town rivals. We’re back to playing Grantsville football with a chip on our shoulder.”

Both offenses were hitting on all cylinders during the first half with the teams combining for six touchdowns. Tooele started the scoring, but Grantsville always responded. Tooele scored, Grantsville scored, Tooele scored, Grantsville scored, Tooele scored and Grantsville scored to make it 21-21 at intermission.

According to script, Tooele scored first in the third quarter to take a 28-21 lead, but the Cowboys were able to shut out the Buffaloes in the fourth quarter and scored the final two touchdowns of the game for the victory.

“I have to hand it to my defensive coaches because they made some adjustments at halftime. We decided to make sure we stopped their run and make them have to pass to move the ball. They were just killing us with the run,” Cloward said.

The Cowboys did just that. Tooele averaged 7.5 yards per rush in the first half, but managed about 4 yards per rush in the second half.

With the game tied at 28 apiece, Tooele was on the march midway through the fourth quarter. Reserve quarterback Nick Hyde broke through the line on a keeper and was out in front of all defenders heading for the goal line when he was caught by Grantsville safety Tyson Hutchins who hauled him down at the 24. Hutchins had to grab him by the shoulder pad and was flagged with a personal foul for a horse collar, but it proved to be a huge play for the Cowboys.

Hyde was injured and left the game and starter Leakehe returned as quarterback. Leakehe was hampered in the game with a leg injury in the first half. In the second half he mostly played defense and not quarterback until he had to come back when Hyde was injured.

Still, Tooele was in business with a first down at the Grantsville 12. But the Cowboys held strong with big plays from Tripp, Jared Knight and Hutchins on the next four plays to stop the Buffaloes on downs with 4:11 left in the game.

On a second-and-eight play at his own 20, Ekins slashed upfield to the 27, and the Cowboys were aided by a late hit penalty on the Buffaloes which moved the ball to the Grantsville 42. Two plays later, Kort Fonger powered his way to Tooele 44.

Grantsville continued its game-winning drive with runs from Fonger and quarterback Bridger Boman. With Drew Hart out with an injury, Fonger moved from tailback to fullback with speedy junior Ekins getting the start at tailback.

With under 1:30 left in the game, Fonger powered his way 11 yards to the Tooele 20. Then Ekins blazed past defenders into the end zone for the winning score.

“Our offensive line was a big key and Fonger was the MVP of the game,” Cloward said.

The coach was particularly pleased with the efforts of offensive center Taylor Matthews. The rest of the offensive line includes guards Cameron Decker and Tripp, and tackles Skyler Cloward and Dalton Stice.

Fonger rushed 17 times for 100 yards and made nine tackles from his linebacker position. Hutchins also recorded nine tackles. Junior Ekins, starting at tailback for the first time, also was a big key in the victory. “He grew up tonight,” the coach said.

Tooele scored on its first possession of the game after an interception by Travis Brady. The Buffaloes drove 62 yards on nine plays.

Big plays on the drive included a 14-yard pass from Leakehe to James DeSantiago to take the ball to the 50. DeSantiago ran to the 40, Leakehe to the 25, then to 5 with Damon Thomas scoring the touchdown to make it 7-0 with the PAT.

Grantsville started its second offensive series at its 36 and Fonger began to feast on the Tooele defense with several 8- and 9- yard carries. A big play of the series came on fourth-and-three at the Tooele 25. Boman kept the ball to get the first down. Later Boman hooked up with Hutchins on a pass to the Tooele 6. On third-and-six Boman found Hutchins in the end zone to make it 7-7 with the PAT as the first quarter ended.

Santiago set up Tooele nicely on the next series with a 30-yard kick return to the Tooele 40. Thomas powered his way to the Grantsville 40 then Leakehe kept twice down to the Grantsville 20. Two plays later, Brady ran it in from 6 yards to make it 14-7 Tooele.

Lincoln Kelly burned the Tooele kick coverage team on the next play with a return to the Tooele 30. Fonger sprinted down to the 6 yard line on the next play and then into the end zone to make it 14-13. Tooele blocked the PAT.

Tooele responded with a 6 minute, 11-play touchdown drive covering 70 yards. Thomas was the workhorse on the drive. On fourth-and-seven at the Grantsville 12, Thomas busted up the middle for his second touchdown of the game and the PAT made it 21-13 with 2:51 until halftime. Leakehe left the game, however, during the long drive with a leg injury.

Tooele’s kick coverage woes continued and Kelley returned the ensuing kickoff to the Cowboy 46. A pass interference call gave the Cowboys the ball at the Tooele 37 and then Boman fired a quick pass to Hutchins in the middle of the field for a 37-yard score. Hutchins then caught a two-point conversion pass to tie the game at half at 21-21.

The Buffaloes started out the second half with a 57-yard run from Thomas down to the Grantsville 19. Leakehe kept to the 5, but then came out again with a leg injury and Hyde went in at quarterback. Tooele faced a fourth-and-goal from the 1 yard line when the lights went out at Cowboy Stadium. Both teams went to the locker room and the power was restored about 15 minutes later.

When play resumed, Grantsville’s defense stopped the Buffaloes just short of the goal line.

Grantsville could not move the ball out of the precarious situation and punted to the 33. On third-and-18, Hyde kept the ball on a huge 20-yard run to the 12. The Cowboys made three strong defensive plays, but on fourth-and-goal from the 9, DeSantiago took the ball wide and scooted into the end zone for a 28-21 Tooele advantage with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

The punters finally got to see some action toward the end of the third quarter as the defenses on both sides finally made some stops.

Tooele looked to increase its lead by more than one touchdown when it had possession at midfield to start the fourth quarter, but a fumble gave the ball back to Grantsville at its own 47. A run by Fonger and one by Hutchins put the ball on the Tooele 30. On a third down, Hutchins took a pitch and sprinted to the Tooele 16. Ekins then scampered to the 6 and on third-and-goal, Fonger plowed into the end zone to tie the game at 28-28 with 7:58 remaining.

Wade Heston made a strong return on the next kickoff to the 34 and then Hyde made his long run, but Hutchins chased him down with the tackle and the Grantsville defense was able to control the next four plays to give them the ball back with 4:11 and set up the game-winning drive.

The two turnovers late in the game hurt the Buffaloes who racked up 369 yards in total offense compared to the Cowboys’ 277.

The teams return to region action on Oct. 9 with Grantsville at Judge and Tooele at Woods Cross.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com