Logan High School Football
In a weekend when the gods of football smiled down upon Cache Valley, Logan High School came away with a 28-12 victory over Judge Memorial in the 3A State Football Championships on Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
The Grizzlies, who have now won two titles in the last three years, jumped on Judge early and never looked back, forcing turnovers, executing trick plays and scoring touchdowns – something they failed to do in their first meeting with Judge in early September, when the Bulldogs mopped the floor with the Grizzlies on their home turf 35-7.
How sweet revenge can be.
The Grizzlies threw the over-confident Bulldogs off balance on the very first play of the game, when Logan kicker Josh Thompson sailed the opening kickoff a measly 15 yards. The pooch kick worked perfectly. Logan’s Josh Thatcher jumped on the ball amid the unsuspecting Bulldog special teams unit. Three plays later, junior quarterback Jeff Manning rumbled his way into the end zone from eight yards out, putting the Grizzlies up 7-0 after only 47 seconds of play.
“We had a slow start last time,” Manning said. “We had to come out fast. They thought they had us easy, but you don’t like a team that comes out hard and hits you in the mouth.”
That’s exactly what the Grizzlies did. Thanks to a tenacious defense and an unpredictable offense, they converted their early momentum into five forced fumbles (four recovered), an interception and three more first-half touchdowns.
“They out-gameplanned us,” Judge head coach James Cordova said. “We were off balance. It pays to have danced the dance before.”
Cordova was referring to Logan’s four state championship appearances since 1999, the year head coach Mike Favero took the reigns of the program. The Grizzlies found themselves on the winning end of the title game in three of those four appearances, the last one coming under the leadership of the now-Aggie quarterback Riley Nelson in 2005. Nelson, who is currently serving an LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain, shined as Logan cruised to a 56-21 over Pine View. Nelson was named the 2005 State 3-A MVP and Mr. Football for the State of Utah.
Although the Grizzlies’ rout seemed to be in tact, Logan fans got a scare when Manning left the game with an injured right thumb after three-yard scramble.
“I didn’t really notice it (was hurt) till the next play when I tried to grip the ball,” Manning said, who had run for two touchdowns and thrown for another before halftime.
The Grizzlies weren’t prepared for this. Next in line for the QB position was wide receiver Devin Peterson, who hadn’t taken a snap for over two months. Favero blamed himself for the hole in the depth chart, calling it “poor preparation.”
But in a game of surprises, Peterson didn’t disappoint.
Peterson ran right at the Bulldog defense, totaling 107 yards rushing on 30 carries with a touchdown to boot. He also grabbed three of Manning’s five completions for 54 yards. Of the 26 offensive plays called by Logan in the second half, Peterson ran the ball 25 times. Although the Grizzly offense didn’t put up any second half points, Peterson kept the clock running and the chains moving, eating up Judge’s championship hopes in the process.
“They just got into that run set and went real conservative,” Cordova said. “It was brilliant.”
To their credit, Judge didn’t just roll over. In the second quarter and down by 21, Judge’s Lewis Walker found an opening on a sweep and took the ball 48 yards for a touchdown. In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Bulldog quarterback Joe Pond hooked up with Lewis’ brother, Keenyn Walker, for a 61-yard touchdown strike.
On the ensuing drive, Logan’s run-offense produced a few first downs, but were forced to punt after being stopped on third-and-five. The Grizzly defense came up big and stopped Judge’s next drive, sacking Pond on fourth down, giving Logan possession of the ball and a few more minutes to burn off the clock. After another Logan punt, Judge took over for what would be the last time. Faced with fourth down and three yards to go, Pond’s pass was deflected out of the air by Logan defensive lineman Ruben Matangi
The few remaining tics were drained from the clock as Peterson took a knee, driving the nail through the coffin for Judge Memorial.
“It’s special,” Favero said of the win. “As a coach, you’re pleased that you gave your players, your fans and your community the opportunity for this great experience that very few people ever have in their lifetime.”