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OGDEN — Last season’s 3A state champions will have a shot to defend its title next weekend after Juan Diego clobbered Juab 61-36 on Friday night. The Wasps scored two touchdowns early in the game but the rest of the game was all Soaring Eagle. Led by quarterback Zach Hoffman and running back Ryan Baker, Juan Diego ran for 555 total yards against Juab.
“They came out with a lot of energy, and I don’t think we matched it early,” Juan Diego head coach John Colosimo said. “They took it to us, and we woke up. We came to play, we hung in there, and our kids didn’t quit, once they felt like they got on a roll they just kept going.”
The defending champs started the season 1-3 before winning five straight to reach the playoffs. “We’re young, we had a lot of juniors and sophomores playing a lot of positions early in the year,” Colosimo said. “They were making just typical young mistakes, we knew that, and we had to just keep getting better. They’re ten games, eleven games into the year now, they’re no longer sophomores and juniors, they have a season under their belt, they’re doing things a lot smarter.”
“We’re young, we had a lot of juniors and sophomores playing a lot of positions early in the year,” Colosimo said. “They were making just typical young mistakes, we knew that, and we had to just keep getting better. They’re 10 games, 11 games into the year now, they’re no longer sophomores and juniors, they have a season under their belt and they’re doing things a lot smarter.”
The championship game will be against Delta, who defeated Morgan earlier in the day to advance to the final. Coach Colosimo said of next week's title game, “We’re (in the championship game), we have the best odds of anyone of beating (Delta). We have an opportunity to defend our title, we’ll plan like we always do, and I think we’ll be ready to play. (In) state championship games both teams play really, really hard and the best team wins. If they’re better than us, then they’re better than us, but we’re going to play the very best we can.”
Juan Diego will play Delta at Southern Utah University on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m.
Juab opened the scoring on the third play of the game when quarterback Ryker Osborne found Colton Wright on a corner route. Wright outran the entire defense and scored a 66-yard touchdown, putting Juab up by a score within a minute of play.
The next drive Blake Mangelson was the hero after he recovered a Wright fumble deep down the field, then a few plays later caught a sideline catch for a 5-yard touchdown on third and goal.
On the ensuing Juan Diego drive a big catch by Nick Bianchi and a big run by Hoffman on a broken pass play led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Baker. After a Juab three and out, Baker broke free for a 35-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14-14.
Juab fought back when Alex White took the kickoff down to the Juan Diego 13-yard line. A few plays later Payton Bowring scored a 9-yard touchdown on a triple reverse.
On Juan Diego’s next drive a huge run by Hoffman set up a 16-yard touchdown run by Baker, his third of the night. After another Juab three and out Hoffman’s running led Juan Diego down the field and then Alfonso Preciado punched it in from four yards out to give Juan Diego its first lead of the night.
Before halftime Juan Diego faked everyone out on a play-action pass that left Lucas Pino all by himself in the middle of the field. He was finally stopped at the 6-yard line and two plays later Hoffman finally tasted the end zone on a quarterback sneak, leaving the score at 35-21 at halftime.
The second half started with a pair of three-and-outs before Preciado broke free for a 53-yard touchdown. On the following Juab drive Osborne lost the football and Juan Diego’s Tupou Motuhifonua recovered it. Baker got his fourth touchdown of the night on a 52-yard run on the ensuing drive.
After a Juan Diego field goal, Juab came fighting back a bit. Big catches by Max Gurney and Jakota Snow set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Bowring. Later in the fourth quarter a snap flew over the head of Osborne, who picked it up in the end zone and was dragged down by Tucker Memmott for a safety.
After receiving the kick following the safety, Gavin Skirucha had a big run to the 4-yard line, then finished the drive off the next play.
The last score of the game came from Juab, who scored again on a 1-yard pass play to Snow. Osborne ran for a 2-point conversion, but it was too little too late.
