No. 1 San Juan downs Manti

DRAPER — With Saturday's game between No. 1 San Juan and No. 2 Manti tied at 14 late in the fourth quarter, the Broncos faced fourth-and-four from Manti's 14-yard line.

The Broncos needed a field goal to advance to the Class 2A state championship game, and their perfect 10-0 record hung in the balance.

So who did they trot out to take the all-important kick?

Their quarterback.

From 30 yards out, Kyle Hosler took several steps straight back, approached the ball and booted it end-over-end through the uprights.

San Juan added a late score to beat Manti 23-14 and advance to the 2A title game. They'll play No. 5 Grand next Saturday at Southern Utah.

"We just have a few hidden surprises, " coach Monty Lee said of the game-winning kick. "That's one of them."

As it turned out, Hosler actually has plenty of experience with kicking. He doesn't normally handle kicking duties because Lee's been grooming his junior kicker for next season.

Still, Hosler said he wasn't fazed by the opportunity.

"I was pretty confident," he said. "I just wanted to put it through."

After a listless performance in the first half, San Juan sprung to life at the start of the third quarter. Trailing 7-0, Paul Sanders capped a 57-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown rush.

After Keith Sullenberger recovered a fumble on Manti's ensuing possession, Sanders punched in another score, this time a two-yard dive.

Lee heaped credit on his assistant coaches for making adjustments at halftime. Rather than force the ball up the middle, San Juan pushed the ball more to the outside in the second half. Defensively, Lee said his assistants made adjustments to limit Manti's outside rushing attack.

For his part, Hosler said the turnaround was the result of simply waking up.

"In the first half, we were dead," he said. "In the second half, we dug down and did what we needed to do."

---

E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com