1A football: It was ugly, but it's a state title

Sandy » Fumbles, flags, fouls.

And for the Duchesne football team, futility, as Rich rounded out its perfect season with a 25-0 win over the Eagles in the 1A state title game at Alta High School on Saturday.

In a game marred by myriad turnovers and penalties, both the Rebels and the Eagles were searching for some stability on an icy field. The first half alone was marred by six turnovers and, at one point, three consecutive fumbles resulted in three consecutive changes of possession.

But only the Rebels found some solid ground, mostly in the form of quarterback Bradley Holmes, who finished with 399 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.

"He's been great

for us all year," said Rich coach Ashley Brown. "He's a great all-around player and deserves every bit of praise he gets."

Meanwhile, Duchesne couldn't catch any breaks.

The Eagles were able to thwart the Rebels inside the red zone late in the second quarter, but their inability to move the ball resulted in two second quarter safeties. By the break, Duchesne managed just 15 total offensive yards.

While Duchesne struggled to muster any running power, Rich was having offensive troubles of its own.

In the first half, the Rebels had two touchdowns called back on ineligible receiver calls, including a 3-yard touchdown by Caden Anderson.

Despite those missteps, the Rebels were able to bolster their

lead when Holmes found Anderson who dashed to the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown to put the Rebels up 18-0 at the half, though they knew it could have been more lopsided.

The Eagles finally got the ball rolling in the third quarter as quarterback Shad Thomas threw his first completion of the game to Alex Remund. But seconds later, Thomas' 25-yard pass to the end zone was picked off by Rich's Cooper Cornia for his first of two interceptions. Holmes 5-yard dash to the end zone in the fourth quarter was the final exclamation point on a perfect season and the Rebels first state title run since 2002.

"We wanted to go undefeated and win the state title," said Brown. "We did both. Words can't express how that feels."