3A high school football: Morales runs past Miner defenders

Juan Diego running back Tyler Morales has always been an integral part of his team.

But his importance to the Soaring Eagle greatly increased when fellow running back Zach Kinninger tore up his knee in practice prior to the team's first-round playoff game against Wasatch a couple of weeks ago. The players formed a dominant one-two punch at running back, and the injury to Kinninger put some extra pressure on Morales to perform.

No problem, says Morales, who rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns in Juan Diego's 27-3 win over Park City in the 3A semifinals at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday night. The big night pushed Morales' season yardage total over the 1,000-yard mark, and gave him 17 touchdowns in 2008.

"He's just really taken on a leadership role," said Juan Diego coach John Colosimo. "He's patting people on the butt, and saying, 'Let's get after it.' He just decided to take us on his back tonight and put us in the finals."

The Soaring Eagle qualified for the 3A championship game for the first time in school history on Friday night, but might not have been able to do it without Morales. He's been on a tear in the playoffs. Last week, he rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns in Juan Diego's 28-21 over Logan.

Although Morales has been happy to take on a greater role for his team since Kinninger's injury, don't expect him to take any credit for Juan Diego's success. He modestly praised, well, basically everyone else on his team for his 187-yard effort on Friday.

"We have tons of dominating people," Morales said. "Everybody on our team is amazing. It was everybody's night, not just mine. I was glad I could be here to help."

So were his teammates.

"He's got great vision, great speed, and he's got the instincts," said offensive lineman Jamie Markosian. "He's got the heart, too. He goes out there and puts everything in it that he's got."

Other than trying to reach the 3A championship game for the first time, Juan Diego was also motivated to win Friday's contest to give Kinninger a chance to step on the turf. He limped onto the field late in the game and participated in the Soaring Eagle's victory formation in the final seconds of their win.

"That was special for us," Markosian said. "It's been a big goal of ours to get to the state championship game so that he can play a little bit. Hopefully he can get in for a play or two, even if it's just in the victory formation."

---

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com