PRICE — When things aren't going your way, sometimes the best option is to simplify things.
That's exactly what Kanab did with its offense Saturday, and it paid off with a 26-18 semifinal victory over Monticello at Carbon High School. With the win, the Cowboys advance to next Saturday's 1A state championship game at Southern Utah University, where they'll meet Enterprise at 11 a.m.
"We didn't celebrate much today. We didn't come here just to win today, we came here to win it all," said Kanab coach Bucky Orton. "We'll celebrate next week or cry next week one way or the other."
Trailing by six at the half, Kanab reeled off 20 unanswered points in the second half before the Buckaroos scored a touchdown on the final play of the game. That irrelevant touchdown was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect second half for the Cowboys, who dropped down a classification from 2A to 1A after last year.
In the first half Saturday, the Cowboys ran their offense based on what Monticello was giving them. Sometimes it worked, yet at times it didn't.
Meanwhile, the Buckaroos — last year's 1A champs — had no problem moving the ball in the first half. They racked up 185 yards of total offense in jumping out to a 12-6 lead.
Monticello marched 65 yards on its opening possession of the game, a drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Wes Hawkins. After a defensive stop, Monticello was again on the march again, but a holding penalty stalled the drive.
A few minutes after Kanab tied it at 6-6 on a 21-yard TD pass from Glazier to Shaun Johnson with 7:38 remaining in the half, the Buckaroos went back in front as Wade Eldredge broke several tackles on a 74-yard touchdown run up the middle of the field.
Similar success was impossible to find in the second half for Monticello.
"We made a few adjustments at halftime defensively, and we went back to our base offense instead of worrying about what they were giving us," said Orton.
Tyler Ramsay benefited from the change by finishing with 154 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while Kanab quarterback Mitch Glazier chipped in with 77 yards. The Cowboys finished with 298 total rushing yards.
"I thought we did a much better job of tackling in the second half, and a heck of a better job of pursuit," said Orton.
Aside for the late scoring drive, the Buckaroos only had one other productive offensive drive in the second half, but it ended with an incomplete pass in the endzone with 5:36 remaining in the game.
By that time, Ramsay had already given Kanab the 20-12 lead with a pair of 1-yard rushing touchdowns.
The Cowboys tacked on the game-clinching score with 1:21 remaining in the game when Caleb Vincent danced into the endzone on a 25-yard run.
ENTERPRISE 16, DUCHESNE 0: Even though Enterprise's offense sputtered throughout most of Saturday's semifinal, the Wolves are still moving onto the 1A state championship thanks to an outstanding defensive effort.
Not only did Enterprise bottle up Duchesne's vaunted rushing attack, but the Wolves' defense intercepted five passes, three by Jesse Johnson. Enterprise only turned two of those interceptions into points, but one in particular spoiled a very impressive drive by Duchesne.
On its second drive of the game, Duchesne chewed nearly nine minutes off the clock on a 16-play, 81-yard drive, but it ended in a Johnson interception.
Enterprise went ahead 3-0 on the final play of the first half on a field goal by Jordan Casey. The Wolves then extended that lead to 10-0 on a Sam Fenn 1-yard plunge early in the third. Enterprise iced the game on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Cody Nielson to Dallin Clove with two minutes remaining.
Duchesne lost despite its 242 yards of total offense, compared to 217 for Enterprise.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com