High school football: Big 1st quarter pushes Crimson Cliffs past Sky View and into 4A championship game

For the third year in a row, Crimson Cliffs is heading to the 4A football state championship game after defeating Sky View 38-29 Friday night in the semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Crimson Cliffs was carried by wide receiver Malakai Alofipo and running back McCord Christiansen, who both had games to remember.
Crimson Cliffs exploded out of the gates, putting up 21 points in the opening quarter all thanks to the connection between quarterback Ryder Sherratt and Alofipo.
“I’m just really proud of the guys. Really proud of the guys. We can never take winning for granted. When you replace 19 new starters and something like 20 backups, our guys came out and really grinded it out. We’re battling a number of different injuries and I’m just really proud of how the guys stepped up and battled,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Wayne Alofipo.
Malakai Alofipo accounted for all three Crimson Cliffs scores in the first quarter, and all came on big yardage plays. The first came on the opening drive, with Alofipo getting past the Sky View defense and Sherratt finding him on a 54-yard touchdown reception.
The pair would connect once again midway through the quarter, this time on a 67-yard bomb to double the lead. After Sky View reached the end zone to make the score 14-7, Malakai Alofipo got his third touchdown on a 35-yard catch as time expired in the quarter to give Crimson Cliffs some much-desired cushion to start the game.
As the game went on, the Crimson Cliffs defense was able to keep Sky View at bay, never surrendering the lead, though Sky View was within five at the beginning of the fourth quarter and within two with just over eight minutes to play.
On offense, while Alofipo was getting the job done through the air, Chrstiansen did his part and made life miserable for Sky View, rushing for an astounding 249 yards on the night to go along with two touchdowns.
The first was from 9 yards out with eight minutes left in the third quarter, and then he scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a 47-yard run.
The ability to get the job done both through the air and on the ground allowed Crimson Cliffs to keep the Sky View defense guessing, something that coach Alofipo said was the main key to victory.
“Malakai and McCord are two of our biggest players. We did a great job with our run and pass. Our quarterback did a good job of getting Malakai the ball early, and then once McCord took over we were able to soften up their defense and our offense was really on point tonight,” said coach Alofipo.
While its season ends one game too short, Sky View got solid performances from Xander Stokes and wideout Liam Guthrie. Stokes rushed for 148 yards on 38 carries with a touchdown, while Guthrie had eight catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
In order for Crimson Cliffs to get its second state title in three years, it will need to get past Spanish Fork, which muscled its way past Ridgeline in their semifinal matchup.
“We’re going to be facing a monster of a team in Spanish Fork,” coach Alofipo said. “What they decided to do to Ridgeline in their semifinal was to outphysical them.
“They decided to play smash mouth football and coach (Dustin) Smith is doing a great job over there. We have our hands full and we’re excited for the challenge. We’re going to have to stop their run. Their quarterback is also really good so hopefully we can slow them down and give our offense a chance to score.”
Coach Alofipo loves the culture that has been developing within his program for the last several years and he knows another state championship will only add to that.
“We’ve been building this program for the last six years,” he said. “For them to now go to their third straight championship, it’s a big deal for the team to be able to continue to compete at a high level and build the culture that we want down there in St. George.”