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SALT LAKE CITY — Back in 1983 Michael Jackson was on the top of the music charts, Return of the Jedi was the hit movie in theaters and McDonalds introduced something they called the McNugget. It was also the last time Judge Memorial won a state championship in football.
Judge beat Jordan 26-21 that year to win the 3A state championship. Now, 30 years later, the Bulldogs are the favorite to win their 10th state title on Saturday.
Judge is led on offense by quarterback Kaden Ellis who is the team's leading rusher with 774 yards and 16 touchdowns. Judge also has talented runners like Max Barnett and Henry Garcia in the backfield who have combined for more than 1,000 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. They like to play physical at the line of scrimmage and will run the ball hard behind a solid and strong offensive line. That style has worked well in 3A as they lead the classification in scoring offense.
Defensively, Barnett and Braden Pelly lead the team in tackles and like to play physical on defense as well.
To earn their first title in 30 years they will have to defeat a team that is no stranger to state titles. Manti won back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012 while competing at the 2A level. Now the Templars find themselves with a chance to win the 3A state championship and win titles three years in a row.
Their offense features running back Kamren Fowles who leads 3A in rushing yards with 1406 and rushing touchdowns with 21. He rushed for 411 yards in a game against Juab on October 11.
Defensively, the Templars feature one of the best defensive players in the state in Jared Schiess. He has 69 tackles and 12 sacks this season, while also contributing 10 touchdowns on offense as a running back. Along with Tristan Olsen and his nine sacks, the Templars do a great job putting pressure on the quarterback. They will need to get pressure on Kaden Ellis and disrupt what Judge hopes to do on offense, something they couldn't do on October 16.
Judge won that game easily 49-20. Manti trailed by just a touchdown at halftime, but the Bulldogs dominated the second half. Manti is healthier now than they were for that trip to Salt Lake City. Expect a much closer contest this time around on a neutral field.
KSL Prediction: Judge 35, Manti 28
