HURRICANE — The two top teams in Utah 1A high school football matched up Friday night, Rich High posted the 37-6 victory over Diamond Ranch Academy.
Diamond Ranch Academy secured the south division title last week with a 28-14 win over Kanab, while the Rich Rebels captured the North division with a blowout 35-0 win over Altamont.
Many fans saw this game as a possible preview of the Class 1A state championship game.
“We’re still trying to figure it out," said Diamondback football coach Robbie Dias, whose team has been streaky in losing to Duchesne but beating Kanab. "You just don’t know who is going to show up, one week it one team and the next it is another team.”
The keys of the game proved to be field position and turnovers, and most coaches will admit they are big momentum-changers.
Rich took the opening possession down to the Diamond Ranch 15-yard line where defensive back Ryan Gardiner stepped in front of a pass for the interception. Gardiner returned the ball to his team’s 45-yard line to set up the offense.
A failed fourth-down conversion on the Rebel 23-yard line left the score tied at 0-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Rich used a 10-play drive to march down the field and put the first points on the scoreboard. Rebel quarterback Koy Brown tumbled into the end zone from 3 yards out.
The Diamondbacks were forced to punt on their second possession. The Rebels were set up deep in Diamond Ranch territory by the 35-yard punt return by Joseph Leifson. Five plays later running back Cache Sabey went right up the middle of the line to double the lead to 14-0 half way through the second quarter.
Rebel linebacker Mitch Jarman jumped on a fumble on the Diamondback 17-yard line, and once again the visiting team had a short field. The drive required a fourth-and 2 conversion by Sabey to keep the drive alive. The Rebels used nine plays to go the short 17 yards, and Sabey stepped into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game from a yard out to increase the lead to 21-0.
The Diamondbacks only had two minutes on the game clock to work with but they put together their best drive of the game. Aaron Kearn returned the kickoff to the 45-yard line to put some life in his team.
Kearn continued to show his elusive running skills with an 18-yard pick up on the ground. A 21-yard pass completion from Noah Courtney to Peyton Smith put the home team on the Rebel 17. Diamond Ranch pushed to the 5-yard line for first-and-goal with plenty of time still on the clock.
The Rich High defense, which is currently ranked second in Utah High school football for allowing the fewest points per game, produced a defensive stand to prove why.
The D-backs attempted two running plays and two passing plays and came away empty, thanks to a Brown interception at the goal line.
The halftime statistics revealed 150 yards of offense for the Rebels all coming from the running game, while the Diamondbacks showed a balanced attack with 51 yards passing and 41 rushing for 92 yards.
The Diamondbacks received the second half kickoff but turned the ball over on another fumble on the second play. Rich defensive back Ryker Rex recovered the ball on the Diamondback 19. Brown found wide receiver Wyatt Muirbrook at the 7-yard line and he eluded the defense to bump the score to 28-0 with only a minute gone in the third quarter.
Muirbrook was able to strip the ball from the running back on the next Diamond Ranch possession to set the Rebel offense up on the 30-yard line.
The Rebels quickly returned the favor two plays later.
A 35-yard run by Kearn took the Diamondbacks across mid-field and into Rebel territory. An added face mask penalty added to the end of the run placed the ball on the 25. Another Rebel penalty — this time a confusing defensive holding infraction on a running play — moved the D-backs to the 9. Diamond Ranch faced another fourth-and-goal, but this time Kaelin Kyles muscled across the goal line and put six points on the score board half way through the third period.
With a large lead the Rebels were content to keep the ball on the ground to keep the game clock running. Two costly penalties on Diamond Ranch helped the Rebels. The first infraction was whistled for helmet-to helmet-contact leading to an unsportsman like conduct. The officials took needed time to speak with the coaches and play resumed but the calmness didn’t last long. The Rebels were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on a fourth-down conversion attempt on the D-back 7-yard line.
Diamond Ranch Academy turned the ball over on downs due to a mishandled snap on its own 38-yard line. The Rebels took advantage when Leifson went 27 yards down the sideline for the final touchdown and a 35-6 lead as the fourth quarter began.
The fourth quarter remained calm as the Rebel coaching staff began to substitute some of the younger players. The D-backs mishandled a snap one more time that resulted in a safety and the final score 37-6.
Coach Ashley Brown following the game, praised his offensive and defensive lines that “don’t get a lot of the recognition.”
He also said he planned to give the team a day off as a reward for their hard work. The players will gladly receive the time off. The players stepped on the bus at 6:15 a.m. Friday for the six-hour bus ride to Hurricane.
Following the game the team spent the night in Cedar City and then the J.V. players competed against Wayne High School in an afternoon contest. The bus ride home finally ended after about 1,000 miles and 40 hours at 11 p.m. in Garden City.
As the players were exchanging comments following the game many of the Diamond Ranch players said “We will see you at the championship game.”
The following three weeks will determine if there will be a rematch. Diamond Ranch will play Altamont in the first round. Duchesne and Kanab also find themselves in the southern bracket. The Rebels will host Monument Valley with the winner moving on to face either Monticello or Milford. The state championship game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.