MOAB — The Juab Wasps exacted a measure of revenge for last year's semifinal loss to Grand County, battling back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to defeat the No. 1-ranked Red Devils 20-17 on Friday night.
"I didn't think we played that bad the first half," said Juab coach Mike Bowring afterward. "We had some opportunities that we couldn't take advantage of, but in the second half we were able to make some big plays."
Grand had the ball first to start the second half, but their drive ended with a missed 30-yard field goal attempt by the normally reliable junior kicker Garrett Sisco. The Wasps then scored on the ensuing possession on a 51-yard TD run by Chris Morgan. The extra point kick was good, making the score 10-7 with 5:40 left in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, Grand's Tanner Brown scored his second TD of the game, taking a backfield pass from Gordon Garrett 46 yards and into the end zone. The Devils were up 17-7 with 9:24 left, but the Wasps weren't about to give up.
A couple plays later, Juab quarterback Jordan Jones fired a long pass up the left sideline, which was tipped by a Grand defender and into the waiting arms of wide receiver Landon Nielsen, who scored. The extra point was good, bringing the Wasps within three with 8:53 left, 17-14.
Juab then recovered the ball on an onside kick, but the Wasps were forced to punt a few plays later. The Devils also were unable to advance and had to punt with 5:31 remaining.
Still down by three, the Wasps surged toward the end zone on several short runs, ultimately punching it into the end zone with a 3-yard TD run by Chandler Walpole. The extra point was short and the Wasps had their first lead, 20-17.
Grand made a last-ditch attempt to score again, but Garrett's fourth-down pass to Brown with one minute left was dropped, effectively ending Grand's chances. Brown ended up with 99 yards on 15 carries, and scored both Red Devil touchdowns. Garrett completed just 13-of-30 passes as the Wasp passing defense held tough.
With the win, Juab improved to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in region play. Grand saw its 11-game winning streak snapped — the Red Devils hadn't lost since getting beaten 28-14 at Juab one year ago, on Sept. 16, 2005 Both coaching staffs expect that the two schools could very well meet again in the playoffs, just as they did last year.
"That was one heckuva football team that we just beat," Coach Bowring added.