ST. GEORGE—Another year, another heartbreak for Snow Canyon.
Morgan's Connor Jensen — and team — pushed across the goal line from one yard out with 1:25 left in the game to give the Trojans a come-from-behind 21-20 victory in a non-region game Friday night at Warrior Field. The late score topped off a 41-yard drive, the good field position being set up by a Snow Canyon 11-yard punt shanked into a vicious northward wind.
Morgan (2-0) handily beat Juab last week on many more runs than passes, and tonight it was more of the same. The loss drops Snow Canyon to 0-2, having lost to Olympus last week.
Snow Canyon had gained momentum earlier in the game, that's for sure. Ahead, 13-7, and after two unanswered scores, the Warriors stopped the Trojans on 4th and goal with only seconds left in the first half, averting what had appeared to be a certain score. As Austin Larsen took a knee at his own 2-yard line to end the half, Snow Canyon's bench and fans cheered as though their team had scored a touchdown.
Then early in the 3rd-quarter, the Warriors converted on a 4th down play for a 34-yard touchdown reception from Larsen to Dillon Appel to take what appeared to be a commanding 20-7 lead after the extra point by Jorge Benavides.
But only seconds later — 56 to be exact — Morgan's Gage Peterson returned the resulting kickoff 79 yards and Colby Skinner completed one of his few passes on the night — and season — to Lawson Toomer, for 20 yards and a touchdown, to pull the Trojans within six, 20-14, after a shaky extra-point kick by Chase Peterson just cleared the goal posts against the wind.
The two scores, one for each team, had taken place in less than a minute early in the 3rd-quarter, but neither team threatened again until Jensen's go-ahead run late in the 4th.
Snow Canyon scored on its first drive of the game as Benavides kicked a 28-yard field-goal. Then, after a sustained drive, Morgan's Tad Sargent ran in from 3-yards out and Peterson added the extra point.
Morgan's lead was cut to 7-6 as Benavides kicked another 20-yard plus field goal. Snow Canyon then scored again on a 30-yard reception from Larsen to Reggie Gates, with Benavides adding the extra point for a 13-7 lead.
The Trojans were threatening that lead as the Warriors stopped them to end the first half.
"The game was about identical to last year," said Morgan's head coach Kovi Christiansen. "It was helpful to have the wind at our backs on defense."
"We played a good game against Juab last week," said Christiansen. "Snow Canyon put a lot of pressure on our defense because they have a lot of weapons." And, he added, "They studied film."