The last time the Skyline Eagles played in a state championship game two years ago, they lost by a matter of inches when a field goal at the end of regulation barely missed.
Friday night at Rice Stadium they captured Utah's first-ever state 5A football title and capped a perfect 13-0 season with a 7-3 victory that was decided by a matter of inches.Basically two plays decided the defensive battle - a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Doman to Matt Alba and an 86-yard touchdown pass for Orem that was called back on a penalty.
On the Skyline touchdown, Tiger defensive back Shawn Peterson tipped the pass, but Alba was there to grab the deflection and prance into the end zone to give Skyline a 7-3 lead.
Then midway through the fourth quarter Orem quarterback Garrett Deucher rolled to the right and found tight end Jon Clark behind the defense for an apparent 86-yard touchdown. But the play was called back because Deucher was over the line of scrimmage. TV replays showed it was by less than a yard.
"This is fantastic," said Skyline coach Roger Dupaix, whose team took state in 1990. "Orem's defense is good, but Skyline showed it can play pretty good defense too."
After giving up 184 yards and 10 first downs in the first half, the Eagles held the Tigers to just 51 yards and three first downs in the second half.
"We thought we had something to prove," said Eagle defensive end Chris Hola, who forced a fumble in the first half. "All the hype was about their defense, but I think we proved something tonight."
"We played well and they played well - they just happened to get four more points," said Orem Coach Paul Clark.
For awhile the game looked like it might end in a scoreless tie as neither team could generate much offense on the cold night, with temperatures hovering in the 20s.
Finally, in the last two minutes of the first half, Orem put together a nice drive, moving from their own 23 to the Eagles' 23. With two seconds left, Kevon Inouye booted a 40-yard field goal.
At halftime, the Eagles decided to try and beat the Orem defensive backs with a pass. Dupaix asked Alba what he could beat the defenders on. Alba told him the fade pattern, and early in the second half they tried it.
"I said let's try to go by him once," said Dupaix.
With the ball on the Orem 44, Doman threw a high floater that was a bit underthrown. "I thought he was going to intercept it," said Alba, who dyed his black hair blond at the start of the playoffs. "He tipped it, but I caught it and started running."
"I thought it was a little short,' agreed Doman. "I wish I could have thrown it farther, but, hey, you can't beat that."
Late in the quarter, after a long punt return, the Tigers moved to the Skyline 25 before Inouye missed a 42-yard field goal.
The Eagles then went on their best drive of the game, starting at their own 20 and using up five minutes. But Doman fumbled at the 1-yard line after being hit by Peterson and Brett Daniel recovered.
Orem got out of a hole and moved to the 14 when Deucher unloaded the pass to Clark. But it was immediately called back because Deucher was just over the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass.
"It came down to one play and we missed by a couple of inches," said Clark.
Orem had one more chance when Richard Robbins recovered a Skyline fumble at the Orem 29. But Skyline's Jeremy Satterfield interecepted a pass and two minutes later Skyline was celebrating.
"This is unbelievable, I can't describe it," said Skyline fullback Nick Morgan, who picked up 66 yards despite being keyed on all night. "This has been our goal since we were in fourth grade."
"This is the best feeling I've ever had," said T.J. Stevenson, who ran for 56 yards, including 44 in the second half.
For Alba, the victory was extra sweet. It was his older brother Brian who missed the kick two years earlier. And this time, an Alba scored the winning points.