High school football: Soaring Eagle rolls past Morgan for fourth straight region championship

DRAPER — It doesn't really matter how the regions are aligned, how much they have to travel or who they have to beat.

Juan Diego's football team always seems to come out on top.

The Soaring Eagle proved that again Friday night, rolling past Morgan 34-0 to clinch the Region 11 title. It marks the fourth straight year Juan Diego has won an outright region championship and the seventh consecutive season in which it earned at least a share of its league title.

For Juan Diego senior receiver/defensive back Keegan Andersen, who caught two interceptions and a touchdown pass for the Soaring Eagle in their win over the Trojans, capturing region crowns has come to be expected.

"It would be weird if we didn't win region," Andersen said. "We've won it every year since I was a freshman. It's good to finish it out as a senior."

Andersen helped set the tone early in Juan Diego's dominating defensive effort. He recorded his first interception on Morgan's opening drive. The Soaring Eagle quickly capitalized with a five-play scoring drive that was capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by Lars Gunderson.

"I've got to give it to my D-line for that one," Andersen said. "They rushed him (Morgan quarterback Matt Largent), and he had to throw it up there. I was just there."

The Soaring Eagle recorded three more takeaways in the game. Frankie Sutera had an interception, and Christian Ika recovered a fumble.

Juan Diego figured if it could get ahead by a couple of touchdowns, the Trojans would have a tough time coming back with their run-oriented offense.

"With their offense we knew we had to stop them and force them to do some things they don't like to do," said Juan Diego coach John Colosimo. "Their offense is not conducive to coming back. We came out and hit people, and it sent a good message."

Juan Diego's offense was led by running back Tana Vea. He rushed 14 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He gained 106 of his yards in the second half. Quarterback Cody Stevenson accounted for two scores and threw for 137 yards in the first half.

The Soaring Eagle recorded their second straight shutout and third of the season.

In addition to wrapping up the Region 11 championship on Friday night, the Soaring Eagle earned a good draw in the 3A playoffs. Teams such as Park City, Hurricane and Judge are on the other side of the bracket, meaning Juan Diego doesn't have to worry about playing any of them unless it's in the state championship game.

"That's been our goal, to win the region and get ourselves a good seed in the playoffs," Colosimo said. "We've taken care of business. It's been a tough region."

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