Herriman, East and Logan claim 2015 Utah high school football state titles

Video: Herriman vs. Lone Peak highlights
See Hayden Reynolds in action in the teams' first meeting this year.

SALT LAKE CITY – Nothing about a playoff rematch with Lone Peak (Highland) seemed to favor Herriman (West Herriman). The Mustangs struggled to contain the Knights' explosive offense and lost by 30 points when the two teams played a month ago.

With a state championship on the line, the only ones who believed the outcome would be any different were the Herriman coaches and players.

"All odds were against us and we liked it," Herriman quarterback Hayden Reynolds said. "That's motivation."

The Mustangs made good on their second chance against Lone Peak. Kaden Strasters scored on a 1-yard run with 22 seconds left to lift Herriman to a 17-14 victory over the previously unbeaten Knights in the UHSAA Class 5A Championship Game on Friday at the University of Utah.

Strasters rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries to lead the Mustangs (11-3) to their first state title. Fellow running back Jake Jutkins added 65 more yards and another touchdown on 20 carries.

Talmage Gunther threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 28 passing to lead Lone Peak. The senior quarterback also added 100 yards on 22 carries.

Herriman's defense completely shut Lone Peak (13-1) down in the first half. The Knights totaled just 87 yards and five first downs before halftime and were just 1 of 6 on third down.

Poor punting ended up being more costly for Lone Peak. Herriman's lone touchdown before halftime came after an 18-yard punt gave the Mustangs the ball at the Lone Peak 41. Jutkins quickly cashed in on the short field. He cut up the middle and raced 41 yards untouched for a touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 10-0 lead with 6:38 left before halftime.

Lone Peak finally broke through offensively late in the third quarter. The Knights got on the board when Gunther connected with Jon Christensen for a 32-yard strike, cutting Herriman's lead to 10-6 with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Knights strung together another long scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. They finally took a 14-10 lead when Gunther tossed an 8-yard pass to Tyson Doman with 4:28 left.

Herriman got one last chance after forcing Lone Peak to punt with 2:11 remaining. Reynolds kept the drive alive when he found Noah Vaea open in the flat on fourtth-and-5 from the Mustang 48. Vaea took the ball 41 yards down to the Lone Peak 11 – setting up Strasters' winning touchdown in the final seconds.

"We never give up," Herriman senior defensive end Leki Fotu said. "We just played 48 minutes. That's what our coach tells us in every game every week. Play 48 minutes. Play like it was our last game and it was for our seniors. It's a great way to finish it out."

Logan 26, Dixie (St. George) 15

From the moment he first touched the ball, Dixie had no answer for Logan quarterback Hunter Horsley.

Horsley dominated on the ground, rushing for 258 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 37 carries to lead Logan past the Flyers in the UHSAA 3AA championship game. The senior also passed for 178 yards and a touchdown on 20 of 29 passing.

Horsely totaled 181 rushing yards in the first half alone and it helped the Grizzlies (11-2) stay in control from start to finish. It's exactly the sort of big game people expect to see from a quarterback at a school with notable past signal callers like former BYU's Riley Nelson and current Washington State quarterback Luke Falk.

"The legacy of quarterbacks at Logan High is off the charts," Logan coach Mike Favero said. "He wanted to win for them."

Dixie (9-3) struggled to move the ball for much of the game. Flyers running back Tre Miller was held to 40 yards on 12 carries. Dixie quarterback Zak Harrah threw for 148 yards and a touchdown on 13 of 21 passing.

The Grizzlies had no trouble moving the ball down the field. Finishing drives wasn't as simple at first. Logan drove inside the Dixie 20-yard line three times before halftime but had little to show for it on the scoreboard – netting a pair of field goals from Josh Young to take a 6-0 lead.

Red zone stops became a moot point once Horsley broke loose on a quarterback keeper for Logan's first touchdown. He galloped 82 yards on third down and put the Grizzlies up 13-0 with 3:41 left before halftime.

That play shifted momentum squarely in Logan's favor.

"I just had faith in my team," Horsley said. "I knew we could do it. We knew we were the better team today and we knew we could go on fighting."

Dixie totaled just 78 yards and five first downs before halftime. The Flyers did not have a play longer than 10 yards in the first two quarters.

A turnover helped Dixie finally get going in the third quarter. Payton Wilgar intercepted Horsley at the Dixie 12 and the Flyers made it count. Wilgar's interception set up a 10-yard touchdown run from Jaden Harrison and cut Logan's lead to 13-7.

The Grizzlies answered on the ensuing drive. Horsley found Spencer Corbett for an 8-yard touchdown pass to extend Logan's lead to 19-7 with two seconds left in the third quarter. Then Horsley scored on a 1-yard keeper with 2:36 remaining to slam the door on a Dixie comeback.

East (Salt Lake City) 49, Timpview (Provo) 14

Dreams of a fourth-consecutive state title ended for Timpview as soon as Johnnie Lang started directing the East offense.

Lang ended up being too much for the Thunderbirds to handle. He rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries to power the Leopards past Timpview in the UHSAA Class 4A championship game.

It snapped a 15-game winning streak in the playoffs for the T-Birds (11-2), who last lost in the postseason to East in 2011. The Leopards finished with 504 rushing yards – the most ever in a Class 4A championship game.

Stopping Lang was a chore for Timpview from start to finish. The senior's speed and elusiveness helped East march down the field at will and opened things up for his fellow runners. Jaylen Warren led the way in the backfield with 231 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

"Johnnie Lang is an amazing person," East coach Brandon Matich said. "This team has bought in to Johnnie. The leadership of this young man has carried this team to where it is today. He's a phenomenal athlete."

The Leopards never trailed. Soni Fonua picked off a pass from Kahi Neves at the East 47 to set up his team's first touchdown – a 6-yard run from Charlie Vincent. It gave East a 7-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

Neves answered with a 3-yard run to even the score at 7-7. The two teams traded touchdowns early in the second quarter before Lang took over with some huge plays.

He ripped off a 57-yard run to put East up 21-14 with 1:53 remaining in the first half. Then, on Timpview's next drive, Lang intercepted Neves at the East 9-yard line to stop a potential scoring drive. Lang added one more highlight in the third quarter when he broke loose and raced 64 yards untouched to extend East's lead to 28-14.

Lang credited his offensive line with making it possible to show second-level speed for four quarters.

"Our O-line just did what they had to do to make key blocks," Lang said. "We made the most of every opportunity every time we got a key block tonight."

His teammates joined in on the fun. Warren raced 71 yards to set up a 14-yard run from Vincent that put the Leopards up 35-14 with 1:40 left in the third quarter.

East ran off 35 unanswered points over the final two-and-a-half quarters.

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports