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WASHINGTON — In a rematch of the 2022 4A state championship game, the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs stole the show.
The Mustangs defense held the reigning champs to just one touchdown, and the offense put on a clinic to claim a 49-7 win.
The first quarter started out a bit slow before the first touchdown came after eight full minutes of play. Mustangs quarterback Steele Barben connected with Jordan Eaton to get the scoring started. Only two minutes passed before Crimson Cliffs struck again, this time on a rushing touchdown from Mason Topalian.
Crimson Cliffs' momentum carried over into the second quarter as Tyler West caught a pass from Barben to put the Mustangs up 21-0 after just 20 seconds.
The Mustangs went on to score four more times in the game, with touchdowns from McCord Christiansen, Boston Adamson, Darius Strickland, and one more from West. Kicker Ty Ottenshot made all seven PAT attempts, which is his second-highest total for a single game.
Crimson Cliffs' defense shut Desert Hills down, but the Thunder refused to go down silently and quarterback Beau Wall connected with Javiyen Cummings in the fourth quarter for Desert Hills' sole score of the game.
"I think the boys played lights out," Mustang head coach Wayne Alofipo said. "There's nothing else you can say about it."
Barben, who matched his season high for touchdown passes in a game with four was pleased with the win, but he still has his sights forward.
"(The win) feels amazing, especially against our rival school," he said. "We'll just go onto the next game like every week and work hard in practice."
Alofipo smiled wide as the final score was displayed.
"Our boys were super hungry for this opportunity," Alofipo said. "It's a phenomenal program at Desert Hills. I'm just proud of our boys and the way they competed against that caliber of a program tonight.'
Crimson Cliffs improved to 4-1, while Desert Hills fell to 2-3 on the season. Both teams will be in St. George next week, with the Mustangs heading to Snow Canyon and the Thunder hosting Dixie.
