The "thrill of victory" and "the agony of defeat" were on display in their finest form last Saturday afternoon following the Logan Grizzlies' football upset of top-ranked Springville.
The scene was truly touching. There were smiles, hugs and tears aplenty. The game-story photo of Logan's Roger Ellis' post-game consoling of Springville's Tanner Rehrer surely had to generate some kind of emotional response from those who saw it. A very telling photo.
After the Red Devils misfired on their final play in the second overtime, the Grizzlies erupted in jubilation. The No. 4 seed from Region 4 had traveled to Springville and knocked the only undefeated team in Class 4A out of the tournament in the first round. The Grizzlies had strayed into strange land and slew the bigger beast. The accomplishment was worthy of the extreme celebration.
The Red Devils were stunned. Devastated might be more accurate. They couldn't believe their football dream season had ended so abruptly and at home in the first round to a team that had played less than four days earlier just to qualify. Several Springville players remained on the field long after the game, face down on the turf or on their knees with head down in hands, shocked and sad. Being ranked No. 1 suddenly meant nothing.
It wasn't supposed to end this way. Springville, with its 10-0 record, had earned the easier bracket. The Red Devils were supposed to have a cake walk into the semifinals where they'd likely face a rematch with Timpview or fellow powerhouse Highland for the state title.
The reason this loss was so tough for the Red Devils is this is a class of athletes that comes along so rarely. Despite Saturday's loss, this is perhaps the best football team in school history. The 1985 state championship team, the Scott Mitchell group, can probably keep that claim now.
When Payson lost last year's state basketball championship game, the town was disappointed but took a lot of satisfaction in feeling the Lions had overachieved just to reach the final game. When Timpview's basketball team lost early in the same tournament, the shock didn't appear to be as devastating because most of the T-Birds players had at least tasted a state title a year earlier. When Springville's top-ranked baseball team lost to Lone Peak in the playoffs last spring, it had the same sense. At least they'd won the state crown in 2002, and they have a good shot to do it again in 2005.
But there is no Red Devils football team with comparable talent waiting in the wings. There hasn't been one like it for the 19 previous years, and none like it before that. This team was expected to go much farther. A loss in the finals or semifinals would have been much more palatable for the folks in Red Devils' country.
For those who take pleasure in Springville's loss and want to assess blame, however, there's no one to target. The Red Devils didn't lose because they played bad. They surely didn't choke. They lost, quite simply, because they ran into a Logan team that was clicking on all cylinders, a team that is peaking at the right time, a team that is much better than its record and a team that has the most-difficult-to-defend offense in Utah preps — the same offense used by the University of Utah. Grizzlies' head coach Mike Favero is also one of the best in Utah preps, and his halftime adjustments were masterful.
Many also don't realize that Logan has played much of the season with several key players injured. Ellis, who burned Springville several times with spectacular receptions, missed the entire first half with a hyperactive thyroid. On this day, Logan was simply more opportune and made a few more bigger and more timely plays. The outcome could have easily gone the other way.
The game was a classic, and the type that will teach many lessons to many people. For some, however, the growth will be accompanied by a lingering pain. Hopefully they'll relieve the hurt by reminding themselves that the game they lost last Saturday was just that — a game.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com