Juan Diego outlasts Cowboys

DRAPER — When welcoming visitors to your home turf, it's always proper to make formal introductions.

Mychal Robinson welcomed the Grantsville Cowboys to Juan Diego with a blistering 62-yard touchdown run, sending the Eagles on their way to a gritty 14-7 win Saturday in the opening round of the 3A playoffs.

After a short kickoff to open the contest, Robinson took a handoff, broke through the second layer of the Cowboys defense, then outran the secondary to the end zone.

"It was the (offensive) line basically," he said after the game. "We wanted to come out strong, and I think we did."

Maybe a slight understatement, but the Cowboys appeared to be off-balance when they fumbled the ball away on their ensuing possession. Grantsville would eventually take the ball deep into Eagles territory several times during the first half, only to spin its wheels each time.

The same could be said for the Eagles. Juan Diego was unable to replicate the success it began the game with, until their opening drive of the third quarter. Led downfield by consecutive big plays from Vince Romero and Michael Allred, they jumped to a 14-0 lead after Robinson slashed through the heart of the Cowboys' defense for a 13-yard score.

The Cowboys put together a sustained drive as the second quarter came to a close, reaching as far as the Juan Diego 11. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and failed halfback pass on fourth down ended the Cowboys' best chance, as well as the half.

They did their best to make a game of it in the fourth quarter, sustaining a drive that took over eight minutes and punctuating it with a Craig Harrison touchdown pass to Josh Childs to pull to 14-7.

After an Eagles three-and-out, the Harrison led the Cowboys deep into Juan Diego territory. But a tripping penalty forced them into a first and 25 from the 30, and Harrison's last ditch effort was undone thanks to pressure from defensive lineman Tom Schweiger.

"We knew this would be a tough game for us," Juan Diego coach John Colosimo said. "They do some things we just don't defend well. I'm just glad to be done with them and move on."

The Eagles knelt on the ball to run the clock out and advance to the second round of the playoffs.