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LEHI — Kolton Tanner didn't panic, and neither did quarterback Jackson Brousseau; not when undefeated Lehi trailed Corner Canyon at halftime, and not again when the Pioneers trailed Timpview in the fourth quarter against Timpview.
Lehi had been in this position before, and this time, the Pioneers didn't even have a 24-point hole to dig out of.
"We weren't even scared in that game," Tanner said with a laugh, clearly tongue in cheek.
Colorado State commit Brousseau threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner to Tanner with 1:21 left to keep Lehi unbeaten with a 28-24 win over region rival Timpview on Thursday night at Lehi.
Tanner finished with five catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns for the Pioneers, who improved to 9-0 with a 3-0 record in Region 8, and Grayson Brousseau caught three passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Jace John led eight Lehi receivers with six catches for 71 yards as Brousseau threw the ball some 35 times.
With the win, the Pioneers clinched at least a share of the Region 8 title, but the top-ranked defending 5A champions have much higher hopes than a region championship.
"It just means we came together," Tanner said. "You could see at the very end, everyone was clicking — offense, defense, JB, everyone.
"We trusted them, and I felt it in that fourth quarter. I think our team is going to be something special this year."
Jackson Brousseau finds Colton Tanner on the edge of the end zone to give Lehi a 28-24 win over Timpview and stay undefeated on the season.
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Timpview took advantage of Carson Gonzalez's injury that hampered Lehi's run game in the first half and a defense anchored by BYU commit Siale Esera to a 9-7 halftime lead when Villa found Isaiah Vaea for a 42-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half.
Things got even worse for the Pioneers when Micah Beckstead broke free on the Thunderbirds' first offensive play of the second half for an 85-yard touchdown. The senior high-stepped three times into the end zone past a handful of downfield would-be tacklers to give the visitors a 16-7 advantage with 10:12 left in the third quarter.
But Lehi wasn't done yet; the Pioneers overturned a 24-0 deficit to knock off Corner Canyon 25-24 just under a month ago, so there was no panic in Tanner's voice as he described the home team's final quarter.
Devaughn Eka, a freshman who was called up to varsity late in the season and had just two practices this week with the squad, found his footing in the second half to finish with 93 yards and a touchdown.
But the turnaround started on defense.
Moments after Brousseau found Tanner on a 14-yard touchdown pass to pull within 16-14 with 1:12 left in the third quarter, Keahi Nawahine picked off Timpview quarterback Quezon Villa to set up on the 15-yard line. Two players later, Eka was dancing in the end zone and the Pioneers were dancing with a 21-16 advantage.
"We lost our other running back at the last minute, and our other JV back was moved over to defense when we lost a corner," Larson said. "I'm proud of the guy for stepping up. There was plenty of that tonight."
Still, the Thunderbirds didn't go away. Villa led a 16-play drive on the next possession and flipped the ball to Isaiah Vea for a 4-yard sweep to pull ahead 24-21 with 4:05 left.
But that was way too much time for the Pioneers, who went downfield in less than three minutes over seven plays, and was capped by Tanner's sliding 15-yard touchdown grab from Brousseau in the corner of the end zone to give Lehi a lead it never gave back with 1:21 remaining.
"We went right back to what we practice," Tanner said. "Straight from there, our team came together. We had gone through that drive multiple times; four minutes was our bread and butter. Honestly, as soon as that drive started, you could just feel the unity in the team. JB was on target, he knew what he was doing, and everyone just came together.
"It was awesome."
Beckstead finished with 168 yards and a touchdown for Timpview (6-2, 2-1 Region 8), and Villa threw for 147 yards and a score and ran for 62 more yards.
Vaea finished with 65 receiving yards and a touchdown, plus the fourth-quarter rushing score.
