Skyline beat Highland 37-23 on Friday, Oct. 9, at Highland's field to take sole possession of first place in Region 10 football.

The Eagles (6-3, 5-0 Region 10) built a 23-9 lead, watched Highland tie it at 23, then scored 14 unanswered points in the final four minutes to pull away from the defending region champions, the Deseret News reported. The win sets up a winner-take-all home game against Murray where a Skyline victory would clinch an undefeated region title.

Senior running back Jonah Mailei, back after missing several weeks with an injury, announced his return early. He broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Mailei, a University of Utah commit who rushed for 1,215 yards last season, added a second rushing score in the fourth quarter after Highland had clawed back to tie things at 23.

Quarterback Tate Johnson kept the Eagles in control through the middle quarters, scoring rushing touchdowns in the second and third periods to build a 23-9 lead. Johnson transferred to Skyline from Mountain View after throwing for 1,973 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.

Highland refused to fold. Griffin Backman, a Utah state champion in the 400 meters, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 23-15. Quarterback Will Bauman then found receiver Zamari Vaughn on a 3-yard scoring pass and hit Adriean King Boyd for the two-point conversion to knot the score at 23.

That's when Skyline's defense took over.

Will Finau jumped a route and returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown with 4:02 left, putting the Eagles ahead 30-23. The Eagles forced a fumble on Highland's next punt return and Mailei punched in his second score to seal the 37-23 final.

First-year head coach Brandon Matich, who started his coaching career at Skyline in 1997 before spending 15 seasons at East High, praised his players after the program cleared what he called a longtime hurdle.

"Skyline has had a hard time getting over this Highland hump, and they were able to do it tonight," Matich said.

The coach had publicly deferred to Highland all summer. In an August preseason preview in the Deseret News, Matich said he was "surprised Highland is not the favorite" despite Skyline topping the coaches poll.

Skyline's defense bracketed Highland's top receivers, Vaughn and King Boyd, with double coverage downfield. The strategy limited Bauman's big-play ability for most of the night, though the junior quarterback still engineered the tying drive.

Now the Eagles face Murray, whose only region loss came at Highland on Sept. 25. Murray quarterback Dru Reuss threw four touchdown passes in a 62-17 rout of Juan Diego on Thursday, Oct. 8. A Skyline win clinches the outright region crown. A Murray win would likely create a three-way tie atop the Region 10 standings.

Kickoff is Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Skyline.