Judge Memorial Bulldogs win second straight state football title

Friday, Nov. 21, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — The Judge Memorial Catholic High School football team capped their 2014 season with a 3A UHSAA State Championship title after a 63-14 defeat of Juab High School in Cedar City. The record-setting gamed marked a back-to-back championship for Judge Memorial, a feat that hasn’t been done since the Bulldogs did so in 1972 and 1973.

Judge Memorial also took the state title in 1948, 1949, 1959, 1963, 1970, 1981, 1983 and 2013.

The 2014 Bulldogs were coached by James Cordova; his father, Gilbert Cordova, won the state titles in 1972 and 1973. They are the only father-son pair in Utah to win state football titles at the same school, with the school being the alma mater of each of them.

Gilbert Cordova also won the state championship title in 1970.

The 2014 state championship was noteworthy for other reasons, as well. The 63 points the Bulldogs scored in the first three quarters were the second-most points ever scored in a Utah championship football game.

Fullback Max Barnett, a senior, rushed for 536 yards, the most in a state title game, which earned him the night’s Most Valuable Player honor. 

The Bulldogs did not complete a pass the entire game; only 10 other teams have won state title games with no passing yards, according to George Felt, Utah’s prep football statistician.

At halftime, Judge Memorial led 49-0 and had rushed 421 yards: Barnett rushed for four touchdowns, senior quarterback Ayden Auer ran for three touchdowns and fullback Michael Kearns, also a senior, ran for two touchdowns to lead to Judge dominating the ground game. 

“We got lucky with a couple of turnovers and got off to a lead really early in a high-stakes game, and I think we were pretty focused and ready to play,” said James Cordova. “It’s hard in those situations when you go down fast to keep your momentum up, and I think that’s what happened to [Juab]. We had the advantage of having been in a state championship game before and that makes a difference because there is so much pressure and hype.”

This was the first year that Juab advanced to the state championship game.

The Bulldog’s threw the ball on their third possession and it was incomplete, said Cordova. Without a passing game, “it was hard because we were getting five yards each time we ran the ball,” he said. “Max was unstoppable and had the game of his career. Michael Kearns was also fast and would get the ball on the outside; we’d pound them with Max and then run around them with Michael, and they didn’t know what to do.”

Barnett gives credit to the Bulldog offensive line and the team effort. “Ayden had a great game reading the option, and Michael had a great game running around the edge, which opened up the middle,” he said. “It’s definitely special to win back-to-back titles our senior year, after putting in all the hard work every day in practice. It was exciting with all the help being able to crack 200 yards and have four touchdowns in the last game.”  

The Bulldog offensive line “was amazing,” agreed Cordova. “They threw the Juab defensive line back every down. From top to bottom, this was a team effort; we definitely brought the best of what the Bulldogs have and we just shut [Juab] down.”

The football squad finished the regular season as 3A UHSAA North Region champs and were the number 1 seed going into the state championship tournament. The team opened the quarterfinals of the state playoffs at home with a win against Canyon View High.

James Cordova, JMCHS Class of 1988, claimed his 75th career victory at JMCHS with a Sept. 26 win over Grantsville, and his 80th career victory with an Oct. 31 win over Canyon View. Cordova returned to coach at Judge Memorial in 1994, moved away, and then came back in 2003 to become the head football coach.