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SALT LAKE CITY — The Timpview Thunderbirds rallied from a ten point deficit to defeat Mountain Crest 38-31 and claim the 4A state championship in a double-overtime thriller.
It was an emotional win for Timpview. Long-time head coach Louis Wong was forced to resign during the offseason following a state audit that alleged fiscal irresponsibility within the Timpview football program. The program has also been sanctioned by the UHSAA and were forced to forfeit games the past two season for the use of ineligible players.
"There's so much adversity that we went through," an emotional Jake Lloyd said after the dramatic victory. "They took away our coach, our wins, our region championships but they can't take this away."
The Timpview quarterback got off to a rough start in the 4A state championship game. Lloyd completed just 6 of his first 17 passes in the first half and threw an interception. Timpview turned the ball over twice in the 1st quarter which led to nine Mountain Crest points.
It looked like Mountain Crest was poised to win their first state championship since 2005 when Jamison Webb threw an 11 yard touchdown pass to BYU bound receiver Faimafili Laulu-Pututau that gave the Mustangs a 24-21 lead with 1:54 left in regulation but Timpview would rally.
Lloyd would lead the Timpview offense on a 9 play, 66 yard drive. Tyler Solarzano kicked a 31 yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Mountain Crest would score first in overtime when Eddy Hall rushed in from 10 yards out but Timpview would match the score in dramatic fashion.
Facing fourth down and long, Lloyd found himself in the grasp of a Mountain Crest defender short of a first down but somehow found a way to throw the football to a wide open Connor Mendevil for a game-saving 20-yard touchdown.
in double-overtime Lloyd would run in for a score giving Timpview a lead and putting the pressure on Mountain Crest to match.
Timpview linebacker Pita Taumoepenu sacked Jamison Webb on 4th down to end the game and give Timpview another state championship. It was Taumoepenu's 4th sack of the game and his state best 25th of the season.
This is the 6th 4A state championship for Timpview in the last nine seasons.
This is the 2nd time in three years that Mountain Crest has lost a 4A state championship game in double overtime. They fell to Highland 37-36 in double overtime in 2010.
