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Ogden • South Summit entered its 2016 campaign with a flurry of unknowns. The program suffered a heartbreaking loss in the state championship last year, and not only did it lose many of the players who'd accounted for 41 career victories, but the head coach resigned as well.
Many perceived this season to potentially be a rebuilding year for the powerhouse program. Yet, after beating San Juan for the second time this season, 38-21, in the Class 2A semifinals at Weber State on Thursday, the Wildcats clinched their fourth consecutive appearance in the state championship.
"That's credit to the parents, the community, the previous coaches," said first-year South Summit coach Mike Grajek. "That says a lot to the program and the foundation that's there."
South Summit (10-1), which is attempting to record its fourth straight 11-win season, will have an opportunity to avenge its upset loss against Beaver (10-1) at Southern Utah at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Beavers shocked the Wildcats in the 2015 state championship, snapping their 21-game winning streak and preventing them from capturing their third straight title.
"For sure," quarterback Nic Beasley said when asked if last year's loss to Beaver still leaves a bad taste. "It was a bad memory. I didn't have the best game of my life. I threw a couple picks, but that's all behind. I'm not thinking back at all."
The Wildcats, who switched from their longstanding approach of using the triple-option in favor of the spread scheme this season, piled up 577 total yards — including 402 in the first half — off 91 plays to beat the Broncos (9-2) for the second time this season.
"It was good to have Beasley back. We had to shorten up our playbook quite a bit because he's banged up. We were limited, so that's nice what we get when we're limited," Grajek said. "The kids played out of their heads."
Beasley completed 23 of 39 attempts for 354 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Riley Bayles ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, while both Parker Grajek (nine receptions, 134 yards, one touchdown) and Keegan Stracher (nine receptions, 118 yards, one touchdown) reached the 100-yard plateau in receiving yards.
San Juan took leads of 6-0, 14-7 and 21-14. Quarterback Jordan Blake found Jaxon Lee on a 15-yard pass for the first score, and Nathan Nielson on a 66-yard bomb for the second score. Blake converted the 2-point conversion before snagging an interception and making a house call from 87 yards out with 4:17 remaining in the first half.
"I told the kids, 'It's a good thing we can score,' " Grajek said about his conversations following the pick-six. "I don't think our offense had any doubt. We said, 'They're twice as big as us, and they're getting really tired.' The kids responded great."
The Broncos would not score again. South Summit, which scored on a 2-yard Bayles run, a 1-yard Beasley-Grajek connection and a 26-yard Beasley-Stracher hook-up in the first half, took the lead for good on a 1-yard Bayles scamper. The Wildcats added a 29-yard field goal by Trey Hatch before Hagen Miles tacked on a 2-yard run with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
• South Summit clinches its fourth consecutive appearance in the state championship after beating San Juan for the second time this season.
• The Wildcats pile up 577 yards of total offense on 91 plays.
• After falling behind by seven points, South Summit scores the final 24 points of the game.