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Syracuse • For Russ Jones, 40 years came down to 1.2 seconds. Earlier this year, the Syracuse coach announced his intentions of hanging up the headset at the end of the season and ending a career on the sidelines that has spanned four decades.

The Titans, the second seed from Region 2, had previously experienced three consecutive exits in the opening round of the Class 5A postseason after advancing to the championship in 2012, and, on Friday, they found themselves deadlocked against West Jordan with a pending 27-yard field goal.

Senior kicker Jayden Grose eyed the posts. An attempt in the first half was blocked, but it never crossed his mind as he split the uprights to send Syracuse to the quarterfinals with a thrilling 38-35 win.

"You just go through the motions," Grose said on his home field. "Do your same steps, all you got to do is hit it right and it's in."

The Titans await the winner of Roy (Region 1, No. 1) and American Fork (Region 4, No. 4), which are scheduled to play on Saturday at 1 p.m. The loss for the Jaguars, the No. 3 seed from Region 3, prevented the first postseason win for the program since 2005.

"I love the way they kept fighting," Jones said. "They knew it could be the end. They didn't want to give up. … They don't talk about [my retirement] much, and I don't either. I want it to be their season, not about me. I try to keep the focus on them."

Jones mentioned several players rising to the occasion. Two in particular stood out: Quarterback T.J. Metcalfe continuously extended plays with his feet, while keeping his eyes downfield. He threw three touchdowns and added another with his legs.

Receiver Brennon Jones was the beneficiary of one of those touchdown passes, while also accounting for two interceptions and multiple third-down conversions to keep the Titans' pulse beating.

"It was incredible coming out with a win," Brennon Jones said. "... We wanted to win for our coach. We put everything on the field for him."

West Jordan took leads of 7-0, 14-7, 21-14 and 28-21 on a 1-yard run by Forest Rich, a 10-yard swing pass from Dylan Krans to Rich, another 10-yard pass from Krans to Skyler Caldwell, and a short Krans-Tanner Peterson hookup.

Syracuse equaled the score following each West Jordan touchdown; first on a 1-yard Alex Forbush touchdown, followed by a 55-yard Metcalfe-Jones connection, a 21-yard strike on fourth-and-2 from Metcalfe to Anthony Vincent, and an 11-yard tuck by Metcalfe before Metcalfe's 5-yard pass to N.J. Mo'o furnished the first lead for the Titans, 35-28, with 4:09 remaining.

West Jordan countered with a 39-yard touchdown from Krans to Peterson to pull even at 35 apiece with 2:59 remaining on the clock.

Syracuse proceeded to march down the field, when Metcalfe was sacked at WJ's 31 with 10 seconds left, putting the Titans out of field goal range. But Metcalfe didn't panic, hitting Forbush for a 21-yard gain on the ensuing play before the clock stopped at 1.2 seconds to set up Grose.

"It was a great game," Metcalfe said. "If you didn't see it — you missed out. … I said probably five prayers in a row [during the kick]. Thank goodness it went in."

tphibbs@sltrib.com Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Storylines

R Syracuse hits a 27-yard field goal with 1.2 seconds left to break three-year streak of losing in the first round.

• T.J. Metcalfe throws three touchdowns and adds another with his feet, while Brennon Jones snags two interceptions for Syracuse.

• The Titans await the winner of Roy and American Fork in the Class 5A quarterfinals.