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Cedar City • There are few things in football that can be as frustrating as trying to come back on a team that runs a wishbone offense and owns a two-touchdown lead.
So, when Rich took a 14-0 halftime lead on its way to a 20-0 victory and its first Class 1A state football championship since 2009, Diamond Ranch had no answers.
"We can waste time if we have to," deadpanned Rich coach Ashley Brown after being soaked by ice water by his celebrating team.
That wasn't to say that the Rebels did not have to overcome some adversity.
Quarterback Koy Brown, a key component of the run- and option-oriented wishbone, left the game with a concussion at halftime. And Cache Sabey, who scored Rich's first two touchdowns, missed a few series in the fourth quarter with cramps.
But Jayden Wallentine played well at quarterback. And Rich simply didn't make many mistakes while playing fundamentally sound football.
Then there was that defense, which frustrated the Diamondbacks all afternoon.
"The defense has been great all year," Brown said. "They bought into knowing that if they stopped teams, they could win. They did it again today. They all knew their jobs. They played how they are supposed to, with lots of energy and lots of emotion."
Rich's scores all came after Diamond Ranch mistakes. The Rebels took a 7-0 lead after recovering a fumble. Sabey went one yard for the touchdown. Then, a bad snap on a punt gave Rich the ball at the Diamond Ranch 6-yard line in the second quarter. Sabey went 6 yards for that touchdown.
Rich capped the scoring late in the game on a 20-yard interception return by sophomore Hunter Trenery.
Diamond Ranch coach Robbie Dias said the mistakes and penalties hurt his team. But the Hurricane-based boarding school that draws players from all over the U.S. still got its football program's best finish.
"I was proud of our defense," he said. "We held them on a lot of third downs. It's too bad we couldn't quite pull it off this time. I'm proud of them. … We'll be back next year."
As for Rich, there will be no doubt of a big celebration in little Utah-Wyoming and -Idaho border towns such as Randolph, Woodruff and Laketown, for a day or two.
"It's huge," Sabey said after team pictures with the championship trophy were snapped. "We're not a big town, but almost the whole town is here cheering and supporting us, and they have all season long."
Twitter: @tribtomwharton —
Rich 20, Diamond Ranch 0
O Rich wins its first state football title since 2009.
• Cache Sabey runs for two touchdowns, staking the Rebels to a 14-0 halftime lead.
• Rich's defense forces Diamond Ranch into several turnovers that hurt the D-backs.