CEDAR CITY — Patience is a virtue, and after 84 years, the patience finally paid off for the Grand football team.
Three years removed from a winless season, the Red Devils put the wraps on an improbable season by beating arch-nemesis San Juan 25-22 Saturday to claim the 2A state championship at Southern Utah University.
"This game means a lot of things in many ways, because we haven't beat San Juan in 18 years," said Grand lineman Zane Taylor. "It feels so good to end that with a state championship, which we've never had before."
In a game in which momentum swayed after almost every possession, it was Taylor who came up with the last big play. Trailing 22-19 with 2:27 remaining, Grand's Tyler Montague came up with a big third-down sack to force San Juan into a punting situation.
Instead of trying to block the punt, Grand coach Dennis Wells set up his special teams for the punt return. Taylor, who has verbally committed to the University of Utah, had other aspirations.
"I just knew I had to block it, so I gave it everything I had to get through the line because I knew it could make or break the game," said Taylor.
Sure enough, the 286-pound lineman barrelled his way through the line and blocked the punt, which ultimately gave Grand possession at the 3-yard line. It took three plays, but Grand quarterback Tony Dalton punched it in with 1:03 remaining to give Grand the 25-22 lead.
San Juan still had 63 seconds to try and claim the school's fourth state championship, but its bid was foiled when Grand lineman Travis Stott intercepted a pass with eight seconds remaining. For Grand, the party around the 50-yard line at Eccles Coliseum lasted nearly an hour.
It wasn't just a party to celebrate a title, but in many ways it was a tribute to teammate Kerby Smith. The Grand two-way star was diagnosed with leukemia just before the playoffs, and his teammates dedicated the remainder of the season to Smith.
Nearly a hundred Grand students and fans wore hats with Smith's No. 44 on them, and shortly after the Red Devils hoisted the championship trophy at midfield, virtually the entire Grand contingent began chanting "44."
"Kirby's just such a big part of our team, he was a brother to all of us," said Taylor. "To see him go down, it hurt us for a while, but we just had to rise up from the ashes because we had something to play for."
Taylor's blocked punt in the waning minutes was one of many game-changing plays.
Leading 16-13 following a Kyle Hosler 1-yard TD run with 3:45 remaining in the third, San Juan's defense came up with a big stop, and appeared poised to seize control of the game.
Instead, the Broncos fumbled on the ensuing play, and it took Grand just one play to capitalize as Dalton hooked up with Kelly VanArsdol on a 30-yard touchdown pass to give the Devils the lead, 19-16.
There were still four seconds remaining, however, and the bizarre third quarter wasn't done yet.
San Juan's Jens Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown as the Broncos quickly regained the lead 22-19 — virtually the same score as San Juan's 21-19 victory over Grand earlier this year.
"We thought we might've pulled ahead and they ran it right back and switched momentum on us," said Wells.
San Juan might've maintained that momentum until the final whistle had it not been for Taylor's block.
When Wells took over Grand's program in 2002, the Devils went 0-10. In 2003 they won two games and last year they won three.
"We've known since my freshman year that we were the ones that could take state, we just had to stay patient," said Taylor.
Grand took a 13-9 lead into the halftime thanks to 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Tanner Brown. Brown finished with 181 yards.
Grand held San Juan to 210 yards of total offense while the Devils racked up 329 yards.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com