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Cedar City • Juan Diego needed to counter-punch after Juab pulled within six points on a double-pass down the sideline in the second quarter. The Soaring Eagle's blistering start was evaporating.
Pinned at its 20-yard line, Juan Diego, based out of the triple-option, dropped the bomb through the air. Quarterback Alex Hoffman placed a perfectly thrown fade to Josh Vasquez for an 80-yard momentum-killer in an eventual 28-13 win at Southern Utah University for the top-ranked club in the classification.
"It was huge," said Juan Diego coach John Colosimo. "They were coming after us, and Hoff made a great play making the pass to Josh. Josh made a great catch … we just threw it up to him. We were just trying to get the first down, and Josh is pretty nifty as a receiver. We figured we'd get the ball in the air and he'd catch it."
Juan Diego awaits the winner of Morgan-North Sanpete for the Class 3A state championship at Weber State next week. The Soaring Eagle, who did not face the Hawks in the regular season, beat the Trojans 35-21 in September.
"Morgan is pretty physical. We haven't seen North Sanpete. My understanding is they've got a great quarterback and a great running back," Colosimo said. "Two different styles. We just got to prepare one way or the other."
On Friday, Juan Diego established a 13-0 lead on its first two possession, with both drives punctuated by scoring runs from Kaden Hayward, one from 3 and the other from 15 yards out. Hayward, who punched in his third score early in the fourth quarter on a 12-play drive, finished with 171 yards.
Apart from trickery, Juab managed only 171 yards of total offense. Both touchdowns stemmed from gimmicks: a 53-yard double-pass from Tyse Ostler to Diego Carmona and an 11-yard tailback pass from Max Gurney to Carmona.
"I thought we played outstanding defense. We had a couple hiccups there, but for the most part I thought our defense was pretty stellar," Colosimo said.
Storylines
R Aside from two trick plays, Juan Diego dominates on defense and holds Juab to 171 total yards.
• Kaden Hayward rushes for 171 yards and three touchdowns for the Soaring Eagle.
• Josh Vasquez hauls in 80-yard touchdown reception and snags his 11th interception of the season.