This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Lone Peak throttled Herriman in the regular-season finale to capture the outright Region 4 championship.
The final score on Oct. 22: 30-0, Knights.
It was a whitewash of epic proportions, but embarrassment is a powerful motivator. The Mustangs regrouped. They awakened. "We got humbled," safety Noah Vaea explained.
Oct. 22 changed Herriman. The fight never diminished, and trailing by four late in the final minutes of the Class 5A state championship against the undefeated and nationally-ranked Knights — the Mustangs enacted their revenge — marching 57 yards for the winning touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.
The final score on Nov. 20: 17-14, Mustangs.
And that is the score to be remembered, as Herriman became the sixth-youngest program to add a championship banner to the rafters, six years from its inception. The Mustangs also became the 58th program in state history to spoil an opponent's perfect season in the final game and the 47th to avenge an earlier loss in the championship.
"This team has never quit all year," said Herriman coach Dustin Pearce. "They refused to quit, and it showed."
The Mustangs buried Lone Peak into the largest deficit the Knights faced the whole season when Jake Jutkins erupted for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put Herriman up 10-0.
After generating a mere 97 yards in the entire first meeting, Herriman accumulated 131 yards in the first half and finished with 217.
None bigger than the final 57.
Lone Peak quarterback Talmage Gunther connected with Jon Christensen for a 32-yard score to cut the deficit to 10-6 (PAT failed), and then with 4:28 remaining in regulation, Gunther tossed his second scoring strike, to Tyson Doman from 8 yards out. The Knights gambled with a two-point conversion rather than kick the point-after to separate the score by a field-goal margin, and succeeded on the identical fade route to Doman to the far pylon for a 14-10 lead.
"We wanted to make them go 80," Pearce said. "They showed a couple times that they could; good teams are going to do that."
Herriman forced a critical Lone Peak punt, regained possession with 2:11 left, and marched to midfield, but it appeared the Knights had secured their second championship in school history when Mustangs quarterback Hayden Reynolds attempted an illegal forward pass after crossing the line of scrimmage. However, an offsetting defensive holding penalty preserved the Mustangs' pulse.
On the second opportunity to convert the fourth-and-5, Reynolds evaded pressure and feathered a dump pass to Vaea, who raced 41 yards down to Lone Peak's 11.
"I dropped back, and I saw him coming, and I was like, 'Oh! I'm going to run up the middle,'" Reynolds said. "No. 90, their left end, cut me off, so I turned around and seen Noah. I just tossed it to him and let him make a play."
Herriman had only one first down in the second half until the connection. Reynolds delivered again, hitting fellow sophomore David Fotu on third down to position Kaden Strasters' 1-yard touchdown plunge, leaving 22 anxious seconds before the celebration commenced.
"You got to have confidence, believe in yourself," Reynolds said. "Say, 'This is it. It's either do or die. You want to go home a champion, or you want to go home a loser?' That's what it is."
Herding drifting players who were overcome with emotion after completing the upset and comeback, Pearce screamed for attention.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
With all eyes fixated on the coach, Pearce exclaimed: "How 'bout them Mustangs?"
How about those Mustangs, indeed.
"There were a lots of doubts out there, lot of doubters," said Herriman defensive end Leki Fotu. "We came out here and played football. We proved to the whole state what Herriman can do."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R In its sixth year, Herriman is the sixth-youngest program to win a state title.
• Trailing by four with 2:11 remaining, the Mustangs march 57 yards for the winning touchdown.
Kurt Kragthorpe • Mustangs come through, just in time. > C6
Lone Peak • The Knights are proud of rally despite coming up short Friday night. > C6 —
Herriman 17, Lone Peak 14
Herriman 3 7 0 7 — 17
Lone Peak 0 0 6 8 — 14
First Quarter
Herriman • FG D. Osborne 26, 4:12
Second Quarter
Herriman • J. Jutkins 41 run (D. Osborne kick), 6:38
Third Quarter
Lone Peak • J. Christensen 32 pass from T. Gunther (T. Rossi kick failed), 0:26
Fourth Quarter
Lone Peak • T. Doman 8 pass from T. Gunther (T. Doman pass from T. Gunther), 4:28
Herriman • K. Strasters 1 run (D. Osbourne kick), 0:22
HER LP
First downs 11 19
Rushes-yards 42-156 35-141
Passing 61 167
Comp-Att-Int 5-9-0 16-28-0
Return Yards 1-2 1-17
Punts-Avg. 6-44.8 6-28.7
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-60 6-40
Time of Possession 25:31 22:29
Individual Statistics
Rushing • Herriman, Jutkins 20-65, Strasters 11-65, Reynolds 6-13, Everton 1-9, Rush 1-4, Kingdon 1-1, Vaea 1-0. Lone Peak, Gunther 22-100, Kap 11-42, McChesney 2-(minus 1).
Passing • Herriman, Reynolds 5-8-0-61, Fotu 0-1-0-0. Lone Peak, Gunther 16-28-0-167.
Receiving • Herriman, Vaea 1-41, Fotu 1-12, Jutkins 1-6, Tonga 1-1, Casady 1-1. Lone Peak, Christensen 6-71, McChesney 5-49, Doman 4-32, 1-15.