High school football: 3A offense, defense combine for All-Star rout

SANDY — It was close to a reenactment of one of the most dramatic plays in state high school football history.

When Juan Diego's Cody Stevenson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to teammate Bruce Nix in the first quarter of the 3A All-Stars' 35-0 win over the 1A/2A All-Stars at Alta High on Saturday night, the distance and spot in the end zone where Nix caught it brought back some unforgettable memories for the two players.

Both the yardage and location were similar to where the two players hooked up for a touchdown with no time left on the clock in Juan Diego's 12-10 win over Hurricane in the 3A championship game last fall. That play gave the Soaring Eagle their second straight state championship win over the Tigers.

"I was going to give some Hurricane kids some crap but I didn't want to do that," said Juan Diego defensive back Frank Sutera. "They might get a little mad."

Stevenson, who has signed to play at Dixie State, said the two plays can't really be compared.

"The state championship was do-or-die," he said. "That (the first quarter score) was just kind of punch-it-in."

The 3A stars kept slugging in what was a one-sided victory in the first of two all-star football games on Saturday night. The games are put on by the Utah High School Football Coaches Association and sponsored by the Utah National Guard. The stars on the 3A defense took control of the game after the Stevenson-Nix touchdown.

Class 3A forced nine turnovers with seven of them being interceptions in Saturday's game. Sutera led the way with three interceptions. Desert Hills' Brennen Adams, Grantsville's Tyson Hutchins, Park City's Erik Walker and Juan Diego's Keegan Andersen also had picks.

"I think we were disguising coverages," said Sutera, who had never recorded three interceptions in a game prior to Saturday's contest. "They didn't really know where we were a lot of the time. I was jumping some routes, and they didn't know where I'd be."

Sutera and Andersen will both play at Utah State this fall.

"Our defense was outstanding," said 3A and Juan Diego coach John Colosimo.

The 3A stars also controlled the line of scrimmage on offense, helping Stevenson, Juan Diego's Tana Vea, Wasatch's Payton Davis and Park City's Dylan Chynoweth to score rushing touchdowns. Chynoweth had the longest run of the game (35 yards) on his touchdown scamper.

"In a game like that, scoring lots of points is pretty good because usually your offense isn't well-tuned," Colosimo said. "But (offensive coordinator) Greg (Williams) did a great job with them. We only punted once. After three days of practice I'm pretty pleased with them."

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com