There was likely a massive sigh of relief in the Beaver locker room after Friday’s 1A semifinal at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.
After beating long-time rival Kanab by 35 points earlier in the season, Beaver narrowly prevailed in the rematch, 20-13, as it overcame a dreadful second-half performance offensively in which it tallied just 29 total yards.
It’s the type of performance that can often lead to a playoff ouster, but not for Beaver thanks to its dominant defense.
“I’m really proud of our kids for being in a high-pressure situation that we could’ve lost that game and we came up with some big stops to win the game,” said Beaver coach Jonathan Marshall.
Beaver stopped Kanab’s offense twice in the final five minutes, including once after the upset-minded Cowboys moved the ball down to the 14-yard line with a chance to tie the game or potentially go for the lead with a two-point conversion.
It never got to the that point, and then Baylor Blackburn iced the win officially with under a minute remaining with his second interception of the game after Kanab moved the ball to the 50 yard line.
Defense has been Beaver’s identity this season, so Marshall said it was only fitting that side of the ball carried his team in the semis.
He also credited Kanab for much of his team’s own offensive struggles after it grabbed the 20-7 halftime lead.
“You’ve got to give Kanab a lot of credit. I thought Kanab played great. Their kids obviously believed they could win,” said Marshall.
“We didn’t take advantage of some chances, and then you have to give them a lot of credit. They played really hard, came up with some big stops and made some great plays.”
With the victory, Beaver advances to next Saturday’s 1A state championship at Southern Utah University where it will take on the winner of the Duchesne-Enterprise semifinal at 1 p.m.
Early in Friday’s semifinal, it looked like Beaver would coast into the 1A championship game. It took the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards in 12 plays with Tate Gale scoring on a 1-yard plunge to give the Beavers the 6-0 lead.
On the third play of Kanab’s ensuing drive, Blackburn intercepted an overthrown pass and raced 38 yards into the end zone for the 12-0 lead with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter.
“Baylor Blackburn had just a huge game for us,” said Marshall.
Kanab had the perfect response after gifting Beaver a touchdown as it scored on its very next drive, with Kash Kabonic hauling in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Griffen Bone to trim the lead to 12-7.
Midway through the second quarter, Beaver pushed the lead to 20-7 on a halfback pass from Deegan Blackner to Blackburn, and it had all the momentum up by that score at the half.
Kanab seized the momentum right back in the third quarter. It scored on its opening drive, with Bone falling into the end zone on the 1-yard run to cap a 14-play, 80-yad drive that took 6:38 off the clock and cut the deficit to 20-13.
Over the final quarter and a half, Kanab found itself with great field position on several occasions after a blocked punt and then key third-down stops, but it could never quite capitalize with the tying scoring drive.
“We’ve got to learn how to win these games. We get on teams a lot and we’re rolling and it’s easy, but to be a state champion you’ve got to win games like we did today, and even when you don’t play your best,” said Marshall.
Beaver’s coach said the win reminded him of the 2019 semifinal against Duchesne that Beaver barely won 14-7. It dominated the week later in the state championship though, something Marshall hopes his players can replicate next week.