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ST. GEORGE — Nick Despain, take a bow.
The Morgan quarterback and his offense could not be stopped in Friday's 3A state title game. The Trojans throttled Juab 55-3 in a showdown of undefeated squads at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George.
Despain threw for 371 yards and six touchdowns to torch a puzzled Juab defense that allowed just 22 points per game prior to Friday. Morgan's offense produced a whopping 547 total yards, with five different players finding the end zone.
"It always feels a lot better when you're able to close that deal," Morgan head coach Jared Barlow said of the championship. "The kids put in a lot of work. It's good to see them be able to reach that success and see the fruits of all that work."
The Wasps opened the contest with a field goal nearly six minutes into the first quarter, but the lead wouldn't even last a full 60 seconds. Morgan responded less than a minute later with a 59-yard touchdown grab from Josh Criddle to ignite a 55 unanswered point outburst — the 11th game this season in which the Trojans posted 35 or more points.
Criddle, Gavin Turner, Gunnar Lish, Tate Nelson and Shaun Moore all scored for Morgan — Criddle, Turner and Nelson each added two touchdowns apiece. When the Trojans weren't airing it out, they pounded the ground effectively and rushed for 176 yards at a 5.9 yard clip to compliment Despain's arm talent.
"One of the things that this team does is they fight for each other, they work for each other," Barlow said. "They play well for each other and they put in a lot of work. Ever since January when we started they've been doing it the whole time."
