It wasn’t to be yet again in the state semifinals on Friday morning for the North Summit football team, who fell 28-12 to top-seeded Duchesne.  The Braves’ foes found the endzone to crack things open in the middle of the first quarter.  North Summit then responded on a short, passing to uchdown from Tayton Pace to Knox Woolstenhulme.  Duchesne scored on two short rushes to take a 21-6 lead into halftime.  Pace found Kason Richins on a 34-yard passing touchdown in the middle of the third quarter.  Duchesne’s third rushing touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter helped put the game on ice. The Braves found it hard to make inroads against their foes, who use strong running plays to control their games. Duchesne is 11-1 heading into Saturday night’s state championship game against Beaver, with their only loss coming in their season opener against larger South Summit.  “We are super proud of the kids and how they hung in there,” said first year North Summit Head Coach Dalton Ross. “Cru Richens got hurt at the beginning of the second quarter and wasn’t able to come back. … For them to hang in there without him showed a lot about their character and how much they care.” Ross said the senior class, including Cru and Woolstenhulme, helped him keep the program heading in the right direction this year. The semifinals loss was the Braves’ third straight in that round of the playoffs.  “They’ve been so good to me and forgiving when I make mistakes,” Ross said. “I’m proud of them and definitely am going to miss all those guys.” Ross is excited to see if Beaver is able to slow the Duchesne ground game this weekend. North Summit conceded 56 points to the top-seeds in their regular season finale on Oct. 15, but they made adjustments for Friday’s game.  “They’ve got big strong linemen and backs that run really hard,” Ross said. “There’s no 1A team that’s been able to figure it out yet. … We felt like we did a good job of it in this game, definitely compared to the last game, but it wasn’t quite enough, and obviously we weren’t able to keep pace on offense enough either.” The Braves now turn their sights to the offseason ahead and a quest for their fourth-straight semifinal appearance. They hope that next year’s team, with plenty of returning talent including Kason and Pace, can be the one to break through to the championship game.  “It’s a huge testament to our program and kids to be able to make it to three-straight semifinals,” Ross said. “We’re always looking to improve and kick that door in to that championship game and win a state championship, but we feel like we’re heading in the right direction. We feel like we’ve been doing that for quite a few years, and sometimes it just takes time and a lot of things to line up to get to that next game.” Ross said some of the returning juniors were already in the weight room on Monday. Many of the players will go on to play different winter and spring sports at North Summit. The team will dive head first into their weight lifting program in the spring.  “It never really stops,” Ross said. “I want them to go enjoy their seasons, and I obviously wish them all the success. … There’s kids that are going to be really hard to replace. I don’t want to downplay that at all, but it is nice to have the next class that’s coming in to fill the shoes of those seniors that are already wanting and willing to put in the time and whatnot to get better and carry the program in the direction that it’s going.” Ross was proud of this team’s work ethic and buy-in to the demands of his new coaching staff. He feels like he learned a lot and is still finding ways to put the kids in the best positions to succeed. He loved watching the hard work, the journey of the team and their two wins over Millard, one of which came in the playoff quarterfinals on Oct. 30 this season.  The next Braves season will likely begin next year in mid-August.  The post North Summit football falls to Duchesne in state semifinals appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less