The stage is now set as the familiar foes have punched their ticket to the state championship game on Nov. 16. The number one ranked San Juan Broncos came out strong in the first half against the Delta Rabbits, getting the win, 54-14. The second ranked Spartans faced the Summit Academy Bears, where they would get the win, 31-20. This will be Emery’s first appearance in 24 years in a state championship game.
During the game on Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, the Spartans were ready to get some revenge on the Bears. Last year, Summit Academy won in thrilling fashion as they pulled out the win over the Spartans, 45-44 in overtime.
This time around, Emery would strike first with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Treven Gilbert to Porter Hurdsman in the first minute of the game. The Bears would even the score later in the first, with a rushing touchdown. Ty Yost then finished out the first quarter with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert, ending the quarter at 14-7.
Summit Academy would score again early in the second quarter, with another consistent drive turned into a rushing touchdown. The Spartans didn’t take long to answer back, scoring a 45-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert to Deacon Mangum, less than a minute after their possession.
The Emery defense held strong, getting the ball back to their offense. The Spartan offense capitalized one more with an 18-yard pass from Gilbert to Hursdman. The first half then came to an end with the Emery squad in control, 28-14.
The second half turned into a great battle with both defenses holding it down. The Bears would get a score in the third with a big 60-yard pass, giving them some life going into the fourth quarter. Jadin Atwood put a 30-yard field goal through the post, where the game would run to zeros after a tough 12 minutes in the fourth for both offenses. Emery claimed the win, 31-20, advancing them to the championship game.
Gilbert finished the game with 269 yards and four touchdowns. Hurdsman had another two-touchdown game, with 127 receiving yards. Mangum and Yost both had a touchdown as well in the game off of two receptions each. Atwood went 4-4 in PATs, along with a field goal made.
Gavin Bernard led the defense with 14 tackles, Braxton Butler and Hurdsman ended the game with 11 tackles as well. Kalib O’Neil had seven tackles and Yost finished with eight tackles and an interception.
Emery is now 9-2 on the season, with one of those losses from San Juan and their massive second quarter, where they scored 34 points. The Broncos’ Jaiten Knight went 27-32, with 404 passing yards and four touchdowns in the last meeting. The team put up 243 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Jagger Nieves will be one to focus on, as he had three rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and a kick return for a touchdown. The game is set to be played at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.