There was never any doubt that Timpview’s coaches were going to trot out sophomore kicker Luke Thornock to attempt the game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining.
Sure, he’d missed an extra point and a field goal earlier in the 5A semifinal, but nobody on Timpview’s sideline doubted Thornock’s ability to make the next kick.
“The trust goes with everybody and we trust everybody,” said Timpview quarterback Helaman Casuga. “I knew he was going to make it because he’s been making it all week in practice.”
That’s precisely what the Timpview kicker did, despite it being “the most nerve-wracking thing” he had ever done in his life.
You would’ve never known it though as Thornock split the uprights on the 24-yard field goal as time expired, sending the top-seeded T-Birds past No. 4 seed Olympus 22-20 in the 5A semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“It’s just doing your job, right? I mean, that’s my job, I put the field goals through the post, it’s what I got to do,” said Thornock.
With the win, Timpview advances to next Friday’s 5A state championship game, where it will look to halt a 10-year state title drought.
Timpview seemed firmly in control leading 19-7 midway through the fourth quarter, but underdog Olympus showed tremendous resolve to fight back. It cut the lead to 19-14 on a Ty Seagle 2-yard pass from Chase Moseley with 5:27 left in the game, and then took the lead 20-19 on a 45-yard halfback pass from Luke Bryant to Caden Lloyd with 2:30 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Titans they failed to convert the two-point conversion, which opened the door for Timpview to win it with a field goal instead of just tying the game.
Casuga made sure to put Thornock in the best position possible to win it as he quickly moved the Timpview downfield. He converted a fourth-and-7 to keep the drive alive, and several third downs. That efficiency was one of the stories of the game for Timpview, which finished 8 of 15 on third-down conversions and 2 of 3 on fourth-down conversions. Olympus, meanwhile, was 1 of 9 on third downs and 1 of 2 on fourth downs.
Casuga had one crack at the end zone to try and win it himself, but with Olympus blanketing all his receivers, he didn’t hesitate throwing the ball out of the back of the end zone to set up Thornock for the heroics.
He knew his coaches had complete faith in Thornock.
“We’ve always had the saying, trust our coaches, have faith in our players, and for today, that’s what happened,” said Timpview coach Donny Atuaia. “We had to have faith in our kicker, with our holder, with our snapper. Everything in that play went well for us. It wasn’t just Luke, but everyone that was leading up to that play did their job.”
Atuaia credited his team with rolling with the emotions of the game, despite a mountain of penalties that just killed drive after drive and allowed Olympus to hang around.
That even-keeled mentality was obvious after the Titans went ahead in the final few minutes.
“I think the best thing about this game was that we didn’t fall apart. Everyone was still up, and we talked about when things don’t go right we should be the best at handling the challenges,” said Atuaia.
Casuga was as calm as anyone. The sophomore QB engineered the first fourth-quarter comeback of his career in finishing up a masterful performance on the turf at the U. He completed 34 of 48 passes for 380 yards and one touchdown. Tei Nacua was the beneficiary of much of Casuga’s success, catching 13 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown.
He hauled in a 12-yard TD pass on Timpview’s opening drive to give Timpview the 6-0 lead after Thornock’s first miss of the game.
Olympus responded later in the first quarter on a Lloyd 19-yard TD reception from Mosely, giving the Titans the 7-6 lead.
Timpview responded right away with another efficient drive as Casuga picked apart the defense, and Quezon Villa scored on a 2-yard plunge with 1:06 remaining in the first quarter for the 13-7 lead.
Incredibly, despite the explosive offenses on both sides of the field, neither team scored again for two full quarters. Both teams fumbled inside the 5-yard line and then both missed field goals before Timpview seemed to put the game out of reach on Tru To’a’s 12-yard TD run with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter, which put the T-Birds ahead 19-7.
Olympus’ hopes of a comeback seemed all but dashed when it failed to convert a fake punt from its own 33-yard line with 11:44 left in the fourth quarter. The Titans defense kept hope alive though as it got a stop on fourth-and-short at its own 2-yard line with 8:39 left in the game.
The offense then marched 98 yards to cut the lead to 19-14, and after the defense forced another three-and-out, the offense went to work again to take an improbable lead.
Olympus’ Moseley helped key the comeback as he finished the game completing 25 of 36 passes for 240 yards and two TDs.
After the Titans took the lead though by scoring on their final two drives, the offense never touched the ball again.
For Timpview, its last state championship came in 2014 when Britain Covey led the team to a 14-0 record. The program is 0-4 in championship games since, a trend Atuaia is hopeful his team can halt next week.
The confidence level will be even higher for Timpview in the championship knowing it has a clutch kicker it can rely on .
Thornock said the belief in his teammates as he stepped onto the field for the winner made all the difference.
“Everybody was talking to me. It was crazy. Everybody came over to me. They’re like, ‘Hey, I love you.’ That’s what being part of a team is. I love these boys. I love playing for Timpview football. Just hope we can get the state championship,” said Thornock.
