Morales leads Juan Diego to 24-8 win over Bear River

GARLAND, Box Elder County — They're called the Soaring Eagle, but they're more dangerous on the ground.

Juan Diego Catholic amassed 250-plus rushing yards for the second week in a row in defeating the host Bear River Bears 24-8 in a Class 3A non-region matchup Friday night. Soaring Eagle running back Tyler Morales led the way with 15 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown. Morales added 61 yards receiving as Juan Diego improved to 3-2 on the year. The Bears dropped to 0-5.

"(Morales) really did a nice job," said Soaring Eagle coach John Colosimo. "We've had some kids injured and he's ... been steady for us."

Juan Diego controlled the ball for six minutes on its first drive. But the Bear River defense tightened and sent an early message. The Soaring Eagle reached first and goal at the Bear River eight when the Bears decided to Bear down, forcing a fumble to stop the Juan Diego march.

"I was very impressed with the defense," said Bears coach Chris Wise.

But it was the Soaring Eagle defense that came up big on the next series. Linebacker Vince Romero picked off a pass from Bear River quarterback James Taylor deep in Bear territory. Moments later, facing fourth and 14, Juan Diego quarterback Corey Lever faked a handoff and found Morales all alone in the flat for an 18-yard touchdown.

Bear River gained some momentum on the next series, sparked by a 25-yard pass to fullback Jake Miller, but Juan Diego's Dennis Larsen picked off Taylor at the Soaring Eagle 2 to stop the drive.

On the next play, Morales galloped up the middle for 78 yards to help set up a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Finley, giving Juan Diego a 10-0 lead, which proved to be all the points it needed. Morales added a 5-yard scoring run and Lever tacked on a 20-yard touchdown romp.

Taylor, a sophomore making his first start under center, settled down in the second half and found his receivers, particularly Wade Bronson, who had 6 catches for 63 yards.

"(Taylor) was a little shaky to begin with," said Wise. "Then he started to trust the people around him ... he did a pretty good job."

Taylor (8-16, 104 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) capped the scoring with a 10-yard strike to Hayden Haddock late in the 4th quarter. Blake Adams ran in the 2-point conversion.

Juan Diego faces a tough test next week when it visits undefeated Judge Memorial. Bear River begins region play next Friday against Ben Lomond.