This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Maybe the pendulum got stuck in a Class 3AA football semifinal on Thursday night.

More likely, however, is that Desert Hills was simply much better than Stansbury as the Thunder moved into the state championship game with a 49-14 victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium after breaking open a game that was tight through the opening quarter.

"I think we're hot at the right time. I feel like our team is playing really well right now," Desert Hills coach Carl Franke said. "We just try to do what we do well and try not to get out of who you are."

The game looked like it might go back-and-forth for the duration after each team scored a pair of touchdowns within the first 11 minutes.

But little did Stansbury know that, when McCoy Didericksen scored on a 27-yard run and fellow back Matt McIntyre found the end zone on a conversion run to tie the score at 14, the occasion would mark the last time the Stallions would hit paydirt.

Desert Hills (9-2) relied on the running of Nephi Sewell, and the senior responded with 147 yards rushing.

But two long passing plays, each starting out as short completions, helped break the game wide open.

After Didericksen's touchdown, it took Desert Hills all of three plays to march 69 yards in response. The big play was a 65-yard pass from quarterback Quinn Kiser to Logan Hokanson to put the Thunder at the Stansbury 4.

On the next snap, Sewell plugged his way into the end zone for a 21-14 lead.

Stansbury (9-3) was forced to punt on their next possession.

That punt was shanked low, and Desert Hills took over at the Stansbury 35. The Stallions' defense temporarily rose to the occasion, but Sewell broke loose on a fourth-and-2 for a 28-yard run with 9:18 left in the second quarter for a 14-point lead.

Before the half came to a close, Kiser completed a pass to Marco Jordan — who raced 72 yards for a touchdown and a 35-14 advantage.

"We definitely didn't start out great, but we laid it on them and that got us the win," Jordan said.

Didericksen rushed for 103 yards, while Matt McIntyre gained 96 for the Stallions.

"We don't really see that kind of speed in practice. That's the first time we've seen that offense all year, so it's hard to prepare," Franke said. "They've got tons of talent and athleticism. So it was a matter of breaking them down and making tackles."

Desert Hills will play the winner of Friday night's semifinal between Pine View and Dixie in next week's Class 3AA state championship.

"We know who they are, they know us," Franke said. "But we'll get to live scout that, and I think that game will be closer than people think." —

Storylines

R Desert Hills got 148 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground from senior Nephi Sewell, who missed most of last season after suffering a broken neck.

• The Thunder broke open a 14-14 game by tallying three more TDs before halftime.

• Stansbury was led by McCoy Didericksen's 103 yards rushing.