With their playoff hopes on the line, Tooele had to beat Provo on the Bulldogs’ field to keep their post-season dreams alive. However, Provo also needed a win to get into the playoffs and came out offensively prepared and routed Tooele 49-20 on Wednesday.

Milo Leakehe had 104 totals yards and a receiving touchdown while Mason Halligan gained 89 yards on the ground. Provo quarterback Matt Griner completed his first eight passes and totaled 229 yards through the air including two touchdowns.

Tooele couldn’t have started the game off any better. Leakehe was key on the opening drive with a 12-yard run and then on third down he caught a pass and found a hole in the middle of the Provo secondary and took the pass 44 yards for the score and a 7-0 lead.

The early score didn’t discourage the Bulldogs. In fact they scored touchdowns on all five of their first half possessions. “We just weren’t as physical as we should of been,” said Tooele football coach Ray Groth. “We needed to get more pressure up front to cause more trouble for their offense.”

On the first drive Anthony Miles caught two big passes for 13 and 24 yards and that cleared the way for the running game. Sebastian Na’Oupu took the ball the rest of the way as his 15-yard touchdown run tied the game at 7-7.

An exceptional punt return by Kyler Hamilton on Provo’s next possession put the ball on the Tooele two-yard line. Then Hamilton took the first play of the drive for the remaining two yards for Provo’s first lead of the game 14-7.

Halligan made a pair of great plays on Tooele’s ensuing drive with a catch for 12 yards and a run up the middle for 22 yards. A 13-yard run by Jordan Clemente kept the drive alive but a false start doomed the drive for Tooele.

Provo used two big pass plays to rack on 14 more points to their lead. Griner hit Hamilton for a 79 touchdown pass and then nailed Miles for a 65-yard touchdown and Tooele found themselves down 28-7 midway through the second quarter.

A quarterback sneak by Provo’s Griner left Tooele down 35-7 at halftime, as the Buffs slowly saw their playoff hopes fading away.

Tooele did come out in the second half with enthusiasm and tried a little trickery with an onside kick which was recovered by Provo. Griner again pulled a quarterback sneak for his second rushing touchdown on the day.

A great kick return by Leakehe and a personal foul on Provo gave the Buffs the ball on the Bulldog 23-yard line. From there Chris Iorg took the third play of the drive and decided to keep the ball on the option and cut the Provo lead to 42-13.

Tooele finally forced Provo to punt the ball late in the third quarter but a fumble on the ensuing possession deep in their territory really hurt the Buffs. With only 14 yards to the end zone, Provo’s Griner keep the ball himself for the touchdown run and a 49-13 lead.

Tooele was able to shut down Provo from there, not allowing them anymore points and were even able to add on a couple more scores of their own.

Leakehe came in at quarterback and added a little spark to the team and created a running threat in the backfield. Three players came up big for Tooele late in the fourth quarter.

Jai Knighton ran for 20 yards, James DeSantiago for 18 and Clemente finished off the hard running drive with a 15-yard sweep to the right side and was able to tip toe down the sideline to score for Tooele to make the game 49-20.

Tooele did recover the ensuing onside kick but was unable to cross the goal line before time expired. “We just needed to come out with more emotion to start the game and it didn’t really happen out there,” said Groth.

The Buffs wrapped up Region 7 play with a 1-5 record and finish up the season at Bountiful next Thursday at 7 p.m.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com