Juan Diego completes spectacular trilogy

Courtesy photo/Silver Crane Photography

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Juan Diego players react to the winning 21-yard field goal kicked by Skyler Doran.

SALT LAKE CITY — It was a familiar scene on the 3A state football championship turf Friday, Nov. 19, at Rice-Eccles Stadium. As the fourth quarter came to an end, with three seconds left on the clock, the Juan Diego Catholic High School team had every fan frozen in anticipation, yet again.

For the third consecutive year, the Soaring Eagle and Hurricane Tigers fought for the 3A state title. The two teams battled wholeheartedly throughout the entire game. Hurricane took the lead early after quarterback Adam Long completed a 34-yard touchdown pass. Shortly after, Juan Diego running back Wyatt Wilson tied the score at 7, leaving the two teams fighting head to head for the remainder of the game.

Hurricane had three chances to gain points from field goals. The first was blocked by Juan Diego defensive end Jalin Ames. On the second and third attempts, the strong wind seemed to defend the goalpost, keeping Juan Diego in the game.

During the last seven minutes of the game, the Soaring Eagle slowly made its way down the field on a long drive, surviving merely by fourth-down drives.

"I didn’t think we would be lucky enough to do it again," said Soaring Eagle fan Kelsey McGarry, a senior at Juan Diego. "We were on the opposite side of the field as we got into the fourth quarter. It was hard to picture us making it down to our side of the field and then on top of that somehow scoring in such little time."

However, as the scoreboard read three seconds, Juan Diego had one more chance at victory after making it down to the 20-yard line.

"This is it, boys," offensive lineman Trevor Greene told his teammates. "This is our drive."

After a 21-yard field goal kick pelted in by Juan Diego’s Skyler Doran, the stadium split: one half silenced and the other half in chaotic cheer. The Soaring Eagle had done it again – and with no time to spare.

Hurricane players dropped to their knees in disbelief as Juan Diego players flooded the field.

"We have had good fortune against Hurricane," said John Colosimo, Juan Diego head coach. "My heart goes out to their team. They played a good game."

Overall, the Juan Diego defense held the Tigers to a paltry 105 rushing yards. Defensive coordinator Joe Colosimo claims his squad paved the path to victory for Juan Diego – senior linebacker Taylor Cassita led the team with 14 tackles, coming close to his season-high accomplishment of 18 tackles during an early season game against Morgan. Junior running back Konner Kafentzis snagged a much-needed interception for Juan Diego late in the second quarter.

The Juan Diego team practically mirrored its previous two state title games. Beating Hurricane in the final few seconds of the game has become de rigueur for Juan Diego.

This year’s victory mirrored Juan Diego’s previous two state titles, not only beating Hurricane in the game’s final few seconds but also scoring in the same south-side end zone. In 2008, Juan Diego’s Jaron Bentrude kicked the game-winning field goal as the clock ticked down. In 2009, Juan Diego quarterback Cody Stevenson completed a triumphant Hail Mary pass to Bruce Nix at the horn.