4A high school football championship: Colts had defending champs on the ropes

In football, sometimes 46 minutes of play can be overshadowed by two. Such was the case in Friday night's 4A championship game, where Cottonwood let a potential blockbuster upset slip through their hands against Timpview.

Midway through the third quarter, the Colts had a 28-21 lead, the ball and all the momentum in the game. This after a brutal first quarter that saw them fall into a 14-0 deficit while running only seven total offensive plays. The team had battled back to pull even by halftime behind star tailback Isi Sofele and timely plays from quarterback Steve Romero.

"I was really proud of the way our kids responded after they (Timpview) jumped out on us early," Cottonwood head coach Cecil Thomas said. "We answered the bell. This is a great group of kids."

After a 69-yard Sofele touchdown run on Cottonwood's first series in the third quarter, the defense stalled Timpview on a fourth down. Taking the ball at their own 32, the Colts had a chance to put some breathing room between themselves and the Thunderbirds. But that's when things broke down.

A chop block penalty on first down placed them in first-and-30 from the 12. Forced to punt on a fourth-and-31, the kick was blocked by Timpview's Xavier Su'A Filo. Thunderbirds quarterback Casey Rumsey scampered in from 18-yards three snaps later to knot the game at 28-28.

"It was just a great play by Xavier," Thomas said of the block. "After that we got stagnant on offense, and you can't do that against Timpview. You have to move the football and put points on the board."

Suddenly the holes that had been there for Sofele were closed, and the defensive backfield was able to deny Romero access to receivers Alo Moli and Jason Lundquist.

"We got out there, and thought we had the game," Sofele said. "We just didn't execute every play as it should've been executed."

Sofele finished with 194 yards on 20 carries and wrapped up one of the most prolific careers in Utah prep history. With obvious disappointment in the outcome, he said he was proud of the effort his team put forth.

"They came out and hit us in the mouth, we got sick of that and took it back at them," he said. "They're a great team, we just didn't play the way we wanted to play all four quarters."