Prep football: Juan Diego struggles, recovers to beat Skyline in 2OT

There were botched snaps. There was an untimely fumble that led to a touchdown and an overtime that maybe shouldn't have occurred. There was a safety in the first half that was careless at best. In other words, Juan Diego played a spotty game Friday night.

But there also was resilience. There was execution when the Soaring Eagle absolutely had to have it. There were three touchdown runs by Cole Nelson and clutch stops by a defense worn out at the hands of Skyline's no-huddle offense.

A 24-17 double-overtime win over the Eagles wasn't perfect. Juan Diego coach John Colosimo won't take the film Monday and attach it to his how-to-play-football manual. But the Soaring Eagle came out and won a game they easily could've blown.

"It says a lot about this bunch," Colosimo said. "For us to come on the road and play against and beat a good team is good for us. These are the kind of games we want to play in the preseason. It's good for the kids to get this kind of experience."

The twists and turns were atypical for a Week 2 matchup. In a game of two different styles, Juan Diego built a 17-2 advantage by running its wing-T offense and eating up as much time as it ate up chunks of yardage.

Then the roles suddenly changed.

Skyline became the confident bunch. The Soaring Eagle became the team unsure of itself. As a result, the Eagles ran off 15 consecutive points. A touchdown run by Chris Williams and a 2-point conversion tied the score at 17-17 and sent a suddenly compelling affair into an extra session.

Both teams found themselves penalty-riddled in the first overtime, which was largely the reason why there were no scores.

It was Skyline who blinked first.

Nelson ran in his third touchdown from 5 yards away to hand the Soaring Eagle the lead. Skyline lost a chunk of yardage on a botched snap on the ensuing possession. The Eagles never could recover.

"He had a good day and he made some plays out there," Colosimo said about Nelson. "There were some times when he looked a little overwhelmed, but he played well for the most part."

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tjonessltrib