Prep football: West Jordan gains coach's trust
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Down by three points and backed into a fourth-and-goal situation in overtime, West Jordan had a choice to make: Kick in an easy field goal to earn another chance in a second overtime, or go for the win.

Initially, the Jaguars set up to kick the field goal before Mountain View stopped the play with a timeout.

That's when the Jaguars' offense took matters into its own hands.

Tyson Udy and D.J. Tialavea dreamed up a play that they knew would work and asked coach Monte Morgan to trust them to make it happen.

According to a fan on the sidelines, Tialavea told Morgan "Just get it in my hands, coach. I guarantee you I'll score." To which Morgan responded, "OK, then, that's a deal."

The gamble paid off, as Tialavea bounced in for the touchdown and the win.

After the game, Morgan preferred to have his team do the talking.

"Coaches just say the same thing, week after week," he said. "It just makes me sick."

But Tialavea and Udy had plenty to say, especially about their teammate Damien Maestes, who ran in three touchdowns in his first game of the season to keep things close.

"[Damien] gave our team his heart," said Tialavea. "He helped us wrap it all up tonight."

East at Skyline

After Skyline's upset win over Bingham last week, the Eagles were looking to prove their win wasn't a fluke in Week 2.

Meanwhile, 4A East was ready to play after a come-from-behind victory against Snow Canyon last week.

Final score: Skyline 19, East 16.

The Leopards can consider it a good loss, if there is such a thing. To East's credit, it nearly beat a 5A team which upset the previously No. 1-ranked team just a week before. On the other hand, Skyline turned over the ball four times and was still able to sneak out a victory.

How'd the Eagles do it?

Skyline stuck to the running game, finishing with 192 yards rushing. The Eagles' red zone defense also came up big. The Eagles' Algernon Brown had 76 yards on 12 carries for Skyline, often carrying several defenders on his back.

"I think the tempo of the game dictated our playcalling a lot," he said. "We planned to pass a little bit more, but as the game went on, we were hitting some good running plays, so we wanted to focus on those and not pass as much."

Murray at Hillcrest

Hillcrest is off to a solid start after a tumultuous 2007 season. The Huskies' 19-14 win over Murray on Friday night puts them at 2-0.

Though most teams consider a game against Murray to be an easy notch in the win column, the Huskies are in no position to take anyone for granted.

Still, Hillcrest brought its best game to the table, as Kolby Copeland ran for 85 yards and passed for 125 yards while Anthony Divins rushed 16 times for 135 yards. More importantly, though, Hillcrest proved it can compete even while it's down. Trailing 14-13 in the fourth quarter, Copeland ran in an under-pressure 12-yard touchdown for the win.

"I thought we were going to lose in the last two minutes," admitted Koplin. "But we all kept our heads."

Juan Diego vs. Grantsville

Juan Diego offered the biggest blowout of the night in its 65-6 rout of Grantsville. After Tyler Morales scored on a 32-yard run on the first play of the game, it was all Soaring Eagle for four quarters. Grantsville quarterback Forrest Stephenson struggled against Juan Diego's smothering defense and threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

"We really just came out firing on all cylinders tonight. We played really well," said Juan Diego coach John Colosimo. "They're a decent team, in fact, one we were worried about coming into tonight."

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