This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

West Jordan • As the fireworks went off to celebrate West Jordan's come-from-behind 31-13 victory over Taylorsville on Friday night, they meant different things to the two squads.

For the Jaguars, they symbolized a homecoming celebration in perhaps the school's biggest football win in years, a victory that could propel them into the state tournament.

As for Taylorsville, the pyrotechnics seemed like a once-promising season going up in smoke after numerous penalties and three second-half turnovers led to what could only be described as an implosion.

The game, after all, started out so promising for the visitors. Led by freshman sensation Dane Leituala's 32-run on the Warriors' first offensive series, Taylorsville looked like the superior team.

After Larry Bartley's 3-yard touchdown run gave the Warriors a 13-3 lead, they should have felt confident in coming up with a win in a game they needed badly if they hoped to go to state.

But, as the Taylorsville penalties started to mount and West Jordan made it 13-10 right before halftime on a 5-yard scoring pass from Dylan Krans to Michael Wakely, there were hints of trouble ahead.

West Jordan began its second half dominance by recovering a fumble to stop Taylorsville's opening drive and promptly took a 17-13 lead on a 5-yard run by Keenan Galea'i.

The Jaguars never looked back after that point. They seemed to gain momentum as Taylorsville became increasingly frustrated and demoralized by mistakes.

West Jordan stopped two more Warrior drives on interceptions and turned both into touchdowns, one on a 3-yard run by Michael Ponce and the final on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kans to Galea'i.

There was nothing fancy about West Jordan's dismantling of Taylorsville in the second half. The Jaguars just took advantage of mistakes and methodically pulled away.

Most figure that Bingham, Jordan and Brighton are locks for the top-three spots in Region 3 this season and that Copper Hills and Cottonwood probably won't be factors.

So, barring upsets along the way, the Jaguars may have punched their ticket into the state tournament as they celebrated a well-earned homecoming win. —

Storylines

R Dylan Krans fires two touchdown passes to lead West Jordan to a come-from-behind victory.

• Taylorsville freshman quarterback Dane Leituala scores early on a 32-yard run before the Warriors implode in a series of penalties and turnovers.

• West Jordan takes a big step toward a state tournament berth with its homecoming win.