Juab built a 15-0 first-half lead against Grantsville and made it hold up in the second half to prevail in the 3A semifinals
OREM — A subtle offsides penalty on an extra point try in the second quarter changed the entire complexion of Saturday’s 3A semifinal at Mountain View High School.
With the extra yard and a half, Juab opted to try the two-point conversion and was successful for the 15-point cushion. That one extra point had Grantsville chasing a bit more the entire game, and proved to be the difference as the Wasps held on for the 22-20 victory on a day in which both teams scored three touchdowns.
Grantsville even outgained Juab in yardage 296 to 222, but the Wasps benefitted from setting the tone early with a great first quarter.
“It was huge. That was kind of the game plan all week, was start fast. They’re a good team and they played a strong second half, but proud of our kids. They were resilient,” said Juab coach Mike Bowring.
Knowing it would need a two-point conversion at some point when Juab went ahead 22-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Grantsville elected to try the two-point conversion on its next touchdown with 7:00 remaining, but when it missed it was still down two possessions, 22-13.
Grantsville tacked on another score with 1:37 remaining to trim the lead to 22-20, but Juab recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran all but 1.9 seconds off the clock as Grantsville’s Hail Mary pass on the final play fell harmlessly well short of the end zone.
“We’ve been on the other side quite often in the semifinals. It’s nice to still be playing next week in the last game of the year,” said Bowring.
- Watch replay: Juab 22, Grantsville 20
Prior to Saturday, Juab was 1-4 in the semifinals under Bowring, but now his teams are 2-4 and they’ll get a shot at the school’s first state championship next Friday at Dixie State at 5 p.m. against recent nemesis Morgan.
Juab has been eliminated from the playoffs by Morgan each of the past two years, including a 24-22 loss last year in the quarterfinals.
Another quick start would go a long way in bouncing the Trojans. Juab marched quickly downfield against Grantsville on its opening drive, grabbing a 7-0 lead on a Cade Bowring 4-yard run.
After its next drive stalled, Juab scored again on a Bowring 22-yard TD reception from Zac Cowan that stretched the lead to 15-0. Bowring finished the game with 105 yards of total offense.
Juab maintained the two-score cushion until halftime, but Grantsville came out in the third quarter and scored on its opening drive with a mix of run and pass to cut the lead to 15-7 on a 33-yard pass from Jackson Sandberg to Taylor Wood.
Juab’s response is why it will be playing in the championship for the first time since 2014. It answered with a 14-play, 71-yard drive that include two fourth-and-1 conversions, the last a 1-yard QB keeper by Cowan with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 22-7.
“I challenged them and said ‘get in there’ and they did. Our offensive line has been undersized all year, but they’re athletic, they’re tough and they did a great job tonight,” said Bowring.
Grantsville continued to plug away despite the long odds, cutting the lead to 22-13 on a Chace Gipson 34-yard TD catch from Sandberg and then to 22-20 on a Sandberg 1-yard run of his own.
Sandberg finished the game with 206 yards and two touchdowns, but it took him a while to settle into a rhythm against Juab’s defense.
“We tried to give them some different looks. (Ammon Bartley and Wood) are great players and their QB throws a nice ball. We felt like if we let them play catch all game long we wouldn’t have a chance to stop them,” said Bowring.
Grantsville started to settle into that rhythm in the second half, but it was too late to dig out of the first half hole.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2NxkFvr
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