No. 1 Rich and No. 2 Monticello advanced to the 1A 8-player football championship game, winning the 1A 8-player semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium on Friday.
Rich 50, Water Canyon 14
For the first time since 2014, No. 1 Rich earns a spot in the state championship game after beating No. 4 Water Canyon 50-14.
“I thought the kids showed up and performed the way we think they were expected to,” said Rich head coach Tyson Larsen.
“We always try and talk about regardless of who our opponent is, we need to execute on offense and play hard, fast football on defense and I thought we did just that. We had some penalties that we need to fix up, but I thought overall they did a fantastic job.”
Rich beat Water Canyon 48-6 in its first game of the season, but Larsen said his boys didn’t assume they’d win.
“We beat Water Canyon earlier in the year, and we were worried that the kids were maybe overlooking and just planning on next week,” said Larsen. “To be honest, I think that happened last year. Last year we also beat Monticello earlier in the year, and I think that our boys had just assumed that ‘Oh, we can take care of this game.’
“I knew and they knew it would be tough, but I think they just assumed we would take care of the game and we didn’t, and we got smacked in the mouth, so I was proud of our guys this year, just buckling down and enjoying this week of football, rather than wishing it away.”
Rich started with a hot offense and shut out Water Canyon in the first half for a 37-0 lead at intermission.
The Rebels didn’t let off the gas in the second half and pushed their lead to 50-6. Rich’s Drake Weston led the rushing offense with two touchdowns, including an 80-yard kickoff return.
“When we came into this game, we just had that mentality that we weren’t going to have the same outcome as last year, that we were going to come out and hit them in the mouth,” said Weston. “It’s amazing. I’m glad to be part of this Rich high Rebels team and just glad to be playing in the state game.”
Said Larsen about the chance for Rich’s first state title in nine years: “It’s been cool because we’re really trying to build a competitive culture and get back to where we used to be, where that’s expected.
“We’ve talked a lot about how there’s a long blue line at Rich County, a lot of history of successful football and I think there’s expectations, but I think the kids are excited enough that I don’t think they’re going to be overcome with the expectations. I think they enjoy it.”
Monticello 43, Altamont 8
No. 2 seed Monticello is returning to the 1A 8-player championship after a dominant 43-8 victory over No. 3 Altamont.
It was never close as the Buckaroos quickly gained a 35-0 first half lead. Monticello head coach Reed Anderson says starting strong is something his program has focused on.
“We focused on everyone just doing their job every play, and from the very get go they did that,” said Anderson. “They came out and everyone did their job and things kind of fell into place. All the puzzle pieces lined up right and good things happened for us.”
Monticello had a steady flow of offense through the first three quarters, with Jay McDonald leading the way at quarterback. McDonald ended the game with two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown.
“Going into this game we had to start off strong and keep pushing,” said McDonald. “Basically, every time we scored, my coach would say ‘it’s 0-0’ so we just had to keep going and pushing the whole time the whole game. We’re excited, we definitely don’t want to feel that pain (of losing in the state championship) again. We’re going to come out and we’re going to practice and we’re just going to go hard.”
While Monticello’s offense was strong, its defense never let up and only allowed a single late fourth quarter touchdown for Altamont.
The win pits Monticello against Rich, which it lost to earlier this season. Last year Monticello beat Rich in the semifinals and Monticello knows Rich wants revenge.
“We’ve played Rich a lot of years and they’re really good, they’re really sound, they’re really disciplined and they’re really tough,” said Anderson. “Last year we lost to them in the regular season and beat them in the playoffs, this year we lost in the regular season by a score and hopefully the same thing happens where we beat them in the championship.”
Its the second championship appearance in a row for Monticello, which hasn’t won a state championship since 2001. Coach Anderson says the success means a lot to the program and to the community.
“It’s big, we’ve been playing a lot of people in Colorado, Arizona that are same size and we’ve had some dog fights with them, some we’ve lost some we’ve won,” said Anderson. “So, to come and be where we are, where we’ve improved through the season and then have it twice in a row is big. A lot of school pride goes into it, a lot of community pride too.”
Monticello will play in the 1A 8-player championship game on Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. at SUU.