5A football finals: High-powered Knights face title-hungry pack of Silver Wolves

FREMONT (10-2) VS. LONE PEAK (13-0)

Friday, 2:30 p.m. — Rice-Eccles Stadium (field turf)

Ticket Information: Avoid lines, purchase tickets at uhsaa.org

TV — KJZZ. Webcast —Live stream at deseretnews.com Parry's Power Guide ?— Lone Peak by 3

SALT LAKE CITY — It's been a perfect, dream season for the Lone Peak football team.

The Knights, whose high-octane offense is fueled by star quarterback Chase Hansen, are undefeated through 13 games and have outscored their opponents by an average margin of around 40-17.

And now, the only thing standing in their way of a 5A state championship is Fremont High, a spunky pack of Silver Wolves who are making their second straight title-game appearance.

The Wolves lost to Bingham in last year's state finals after knocking off these same Knights in the semifinals. Neither team has ever won a state championship in football, and they're both 0-2 in their previous title-game appearances.

Thus, the stage is set for a promising championship showdown Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium between the only two 5A teams in the state that are still standing.

Hansen has accounted for nearly 2,700 yards passing and 37 touchdowns, and he's run for over 1,100 yards and 14 more TDs. He is, to say the least, a gigantic load for opposing defenses to deal with.

"He's a very good quarterback and he deserves all the accolades that he's received," Fremont coach Kory Bosgieter said of Hansen. "We want to condense the pocket and stay in our pass-rush lanes and not give him room to tuck the ball and go.

"We've got to contain him, and we can't get in a shootout with them. ... You're not going to stop him, but you've got to contain him. And then on the flip side of that, our offense needs to put some long, sustained drives together to keep him off the field.

"He's surrounded with some pretty good players, too," Bosgieter said. "Sure, he's a good player, but there's several other guys on that team that concern us as well."

Fremont's offense is spearheaded by senior running back Nick Vigil, who has rushed for over 1,200 yards and has accounted for 20 total touchdowns this season.

Lone Peak coach Tony McGeary has plenty of respect for the Silver Wolves' program as well.

"Fremont is as good and as physical as any team we've played this year," he said. "They have a big, physical offensive line and a great running back in Nick Vigil. You get a player of that caliber behind that offensive line and it's a handful.

"They're here in the championship for a reason, and it's because they have a great team. They like to run it right at you, but they also have some good speed and some good ability to make big plays, so we'll be watching that."

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

Neither school has won a football state championship. … Fremont is 0-2 in championship games (1995, 2010). … Lone Peak is 0-2 in title games (2002, 2004). … The series is tied 1-1 between these teams, including Fremont's 20-14 victory over Lone Peak in last year's 5A semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium. … Fremont coach Kory Bosgieter won a state championship with Weber in 1999. … With a victory, Fremont would tie a school record with 11 wins. … Only three schools have ever gone 14-0, and Lone Peak hopes to join them.

COACHING REPORT

Fremont coach Kory Bosgieter: Has led Fremont to the final in back-to-back years. His record in four years at Fremont is 27-18. All-time record is 76-59 in 13 years.