Font ResizeCottonwood outplayed Alta in the first 13 minutes of their Class 5A quarterfinal Friday.
For the Colts, however, it went downhill from there.
Alta quarterback Jordan Brown completed 19 of 24 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Hawks to a 37-13 victory.
Alta scored 31 straight points to overcome an early 6-3 deficit and storm into next week's state semifinals against Bingham at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Alta's win wasn't as easy as its season-opening 59-20 victory over the Colts, who held the Hawks to minus-2 yards of offense in the first quarter.
"They came out with a great game plan -- slow the game down, run the football," Alta coach Les Hamilton said. "By doing that, they used up a lot of clock and we got out of sync a little bit. [But] then I just turned it over to Jordy Brown."
Good idea.
Trailing by a field goal one minute into the second quarter, Brown scrambled away from the pass rush and made the game's most critical play.
He hit Tyron Morris over the middle. From there, Morris outran the defense for a 67-yard touchdown that turned the game in Alta's favor.
"I actually ran to the wrong side and had to scramble back," Brown said. "Tyron was wide open and I just dumped it to him. ... It was good mistake."
Brown also eluded the rush on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Morris on the opening possession of the third quarter.
The touchdown gave Alta a 23-6 lead
Asked about Brown's ability and scramble and make a play, Hamilton said, "He's gotten better and better. Early on, he was holding the ball too long. At midseason, he was just taking off and running. Now, he's finding a spot and getting his eyes down field and delivering the ball."
Cottonwood, co-Region 2 champions, finished its season at 8-4.
Said Brown: "This was a big step for us, especially the way we played in the last three quarters. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going up at the U. next week."
