This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Every time a high school football team falls behind by two or three touchdowns late in the game, coaches and captains do their best to keep players from quitting.
Most of the time, the speeches, cajoling and yelling are for naught.
But there are rare occasions when magic happens.
Such was the case Friday when Highland rallied from 21 points down with just over three minutes to play to earn an improbable 41-38 double-overtime win over Corner Canyon in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A football tournament.
All the Rams needed were two successful onside kicks in the last 71 seconds of the game, a 45-yard field goal in the first overtime that cleared the crossbar by inches, an intercepted pass by Nathan Roderick in the second overtime that bounced off a Charger player who was on the ground, and a 35-yard game-winning field goal by Karsa Rahmati.
"I am so proud right now," said an emotional Highland coach Brody Benson, whose team trailed 35-14 with 7:08 to play after Corner Canyon's Nate Cutler returned a punt 85 yards for a score. "You tell these kids about fighting and never giving up. That's what they did. Right there. That's the epitome of everything we teach at Highland. Just fight your ass off until the final whistle. We just fight. They thought they had it but win or lose, we fight for four quarters."
This was an improbable comeback by the Rams, whose offense struggled much of the afternoon, whose defense had few answers and who had two touchdowns called back on penalties.
The improbable hero was Rahmati, a senior who shares place-kicking duties with junior Cameron Paul. Both kicked Friday and Benson just picked the kid who had the hot hand.
That was Rahmati, though Paul did convert a 35-yard extra point after a penalty to make it 35-21.
Rahmati kicked both successful onside kicks, the 45-yard field goal in the first overtime and the winner in the second.
"I usually specialize kicking off," he said. "This game just came to be."
He said he wasn't sure that the field goal that put Highland ahead 38-35 in the first overtime was going to go through.
"It went through somehow," he said. "I thought I missed it. I feel like this is what Highland High is about. We are tough-ass kids who outcompete other teams."The other hero was Rams quarterback James Pembroke, who kept believing when all hope appeared to be lost.
Pembroke hit Ryan Lambson on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 3:08 to play to begin the comeback. After the first successful onside kick, he scored on a 3-yard scamper with 1:11 to play. And, after the second one, it was his quarterback sneak with 3.7 seconds left and only inches to spare that tied the game.
"There was no giving up," said Pembroke. "None of my teammates gave up. We found a way to win. We turned on the switch. We didn't want to go home and we didn't want to stop playing football."
After Highland scored first on a short run by David Nonu, Corner Canyon dominated. Zach Wilson tossed two touchdown passes — including a 51-yarder to Cutler — and ran for another score. Tyler Critchfield was running well. When Cutler returned the punt 85 yards with 7:08 to play, the fourth-place Chargers from Region 7 appeared on their way to the semifinals.
Chargers coach Don Eck could only shake his head. He thought the officials missed one call on an onside kick that he felt went only 9 yards.
"You can't allow two onside kicks like that," he said. "Defensively, in the end, we wanted to keep in front of them. But they just kept fighting."
The Chargers overcame injuries and adversity all season, but they could not prevent Highland's miracle finish.
Now the Rams get a chance to play against three-time defending champion Timpview on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on the big stage at Rice-Eccles Stadium with all kinds of momentum.
Twitter: @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
R Highland scores 21 points in the last 3:08 of the game to force overtime.
• Rams kicker Kasra Rahmati kicks two successful onside kicks, the winning 35-yard field goal and a 45-yard field goal in the first overtime.
• Corner Canyon leads 35-14 with 7:08 to play after an 85-yard punt return by Nate Cutler.