High school football: Big defensive plays propel Kearns past Olympus for upset win

Box score

HOLLADAY — Jeffrey Bassa took a little advice a long way Friday night.

The junior defensive back intercepted a pass at the 1-yard line late in the third quarter and sprinted 99 yards for a touchdown, the winning points in Kearns’ 26-21 upset victory at Olympus.

“They had run the same play two plays earlier on the right side, and my teammate, Mario Zamora, told me to watch out for their No. 2 receiver, so I widened out,” Bassa said. “I knew I was going to score (as soon as I intercepted the pass).”

The Cougars (3-0) had a strong defensive night against one of the region’s top-ranked teams. Olympus (2-1) had dominated its first two opponents, winning by a combined score of 101-0, but the Titans struggled to crack 200 yards of total offense on Friday.

Kearns’ defense was at its best at the beginning and the end of the game. The Cougars stopped the Titans three-and-out on their first two possessions, and they stopped them on downs the final two times they had the ball, both in Kearns territory.

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“We worked really hard to prepare for this game,” Kearns coach Matt Rickards said. “They have the same type of offense as Box Elder (whom Kearns narrowly defeated in the season opener), but we needed to correct a lot of mistakes from then. I’m impressed with the way we worked to improve. It was all about discipline. It was knowing your job and doing your job.”

Olympus took advantage of a short punt to drive 28 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, going up 7-0 on an 8-yard pass from Frankie Goodson to Caden Kuhn.

The Titans evened the score midway through the second quarter when Jack Kelly caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Dakota Lynde. They took their first lead on their next possession, when Keev Wilson caught a tipped pass and sprinted into the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown.

But Olympus came right back with a long touchdown pass of its own. Kuhn caught a 65-yard pass from Scotty Edwards on a trick play, and the teams went into halftime tied at 14.

Watch video replay of the game

A botched third-quarter punt snap gave Kearns the ball on the Olympus 18, and three plays later the Cougars went up 20-14 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Naki Leha. The Titans came right back with an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Edwards, going ahead 21-20.

After stopping the Cougars on three plays, the Titans looked to be driving for another touchdown when Bassa made his game-winning interception. Olympus had three more possessions afterward but was stopped all three times.

“This says a lot about our toughness,” Rickards said. “That’s what I’m most proud of. We never quit, we never gave up. It was back and forth, and it came down to who wouldn’t let up.”