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Cedar City • His team came up with big plays when they mattered in the 1A state championship game, but Duchesne head coach Jerry Cowan was effusive with his praise of the opposition.

With one big interception, the Eagles knew this victory was well-earned.

Senior Ammon Graehl picked off a Tavin Ott pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown with less than three minutes left, and Duchesne had to hold on late for a thrilling 19-17 victory over the Kanab Cowboys to win the title at Eccles Coliseum.

In total, the Eagles (11-1) had five interceptions and Cowan welcomed every one.

"When you have five picks and win by two, it shows you what kind of team they are," Cowan said of Kanab. "They were resilient and had a chance to win the game. I'm at a loss for words."

Following Graehl's return, the Cowboys (10-2) got a 6-yard touchdown run from Ott with 48 seconds to play. When the onside-kick attempt deflected off hands and went out of bounds, the Eagles were able to run out the remaining time and celebrate their second 1A championship in the last four years.

"They were picking on him the whole game," Cowan said of his senior. "When it came down to it, that's a kid who worked his butt off to be on the field. Nothing's ever come easy to him, and he found a way to win the game for us. All the hard work paid off on one play."

The Cowboys lost a chance to expand their precarious 10-6 lead early in the fourth quarter when a touchdown pass was taken off the board for an ineligible man downfield and a motion penalty pushed them back five more yards to the 18. A fourth-down pass then fell incomplete.

On the next play, the Eagles' Cael Skewes threw a strike on the halfback option to Chad Lewis for a 74-yard gain, but Kanab found a way to come up with a goal-line stop of Weston Poulson on fourth down.

After the Cowboys were forced to punt, Jaren Mortensen turned a screen pass from junior quarterback Jarrett Spencer into a 33-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles their first lead of the day at 13-10 with 7:31 left.

"We still had the same confidence," Spencer said. "We knew some things wouldn't go our way. We just had to not worry about it."

Kanab struck first in the opening quarter when Ott found Parker Collins on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Poulson helped Duchesne answer on a 1-yard run in the second, but the extra point was blocked.

On the final play of the half, freshman Carter Jackman hit a 30-yard field goal to help the Cowboys take a 10-6 lead to the break. —

Duchesne 19, Kanab 17

R Duchesne comes up with five interceptions, but needs Ammon Graehl's 80-yard pick-six to secure the win.

• The Eagles win their second 1A title in the last four seasons.

• Kanab lost in the final for the second year in a row. Diamond Ranch beat the Cowboys 23-20 last year.