Rich holds off Gunnison Valley to open the 1A season

GUNNISON—Rich held off Gunnison Valley 21-14 on Friday, Aug. 14, in a non-region 1A game at Gunnison.

The Rebels took a 14-7 lead into halftime and added a fourth-quarter touchdown before the Bulldogs answered late.

Rich opened the scoring with 5:38 remaining in the first quarter when Brady Cornia connected with Nash Parry for a 7-yard touchdown. Paxton Nicolodemos added the extra point.

Gunnison Valley tied the game with 6:07 left in the second quarter when Kyle Keith scored on a 2-yard run. Gavin Willden’s successful extra point made it 7-7.

Rich regained the lead just before halftime. Nicolodemos found Max Weston for a 28-yard touchdown with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and Nicolodemos converted the extra point to give the Rebels a 14-7 advantage.

Neither team scored in the third quarter.

Rich extended its lead with 6:15 remaining in the fourth quarter when Porter O’Mealy scored on a 4-yard run. Nicolodemos added the extra point to make it 21-7.

Gunnison Valley answered less than 30 seconds later. Keith connected with Brody Knudsen for an 80-yard touchdown with 5:48 remaining. Willden’s extra point cut the Rich lead to 21-14.

The Bulldogs were unable to score again as Rich held on for the victory.

Keith accounted for Gunnison Valley’s two touchdowns, scoring once on the ground and throwing for another. Knudsen caught the 80-yard touchdown pass.

The Bulldogs (0-1) will travel to Herriman on Friday to take on Providence Hall (0-1).