3A/2A football semifinals: Morgan comeback falls short; Layton Christian loses 17-14
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- Morgan High quarterback Beck Sheffield is sacked by a Manti High player during a 3A football semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 at Zions Bank Stadium.
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- Layton Christian Academy quarterback Marcus Miles runs the ball during a 2A football semifinal game against South Summit on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 at Zions Bank Stadium.
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- Morgan High’s Lincoln Gilson (right) makes a tackle on Manti High receiver Hunter Stevens during a 3A football semifinal at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
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- Layton Christian Academy football players react after the end of their 2A semifinal loss against South Summit on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 at Zions Bank Stadium.
HERRIMAN — Manti High’s defense forced Morgan into five punts, three turnovers and one missed field goal — all before halftime.
In recent years, it’s been rare to see a similarly classified football team throw the Trojans to the turf so quickly after kickoff.
Morgan trailed 21-0 at halftime of Saturday’s 3A football semifinal at Zions Bank Stadium, came back within seven points in the second half, but 2023 appears to be central Utah’s year in 3A.
No. 2 Manti swatted away No. 3 Morgan’s second-half comeback attempt and beat the Trojans 35-21, ending Morgan’s four-season streak of state title game appearances.
“It’s always a tough loss but, you know, Manti’s a great team and they just came together as a team better than us and I feel like they just executed from the start,” Morgan senior receiver Tate Nelson said.
Manti quarterback Maison Starkweather tallied the first of three first-half touchdowns with a 31-yard scoring pass to Stone Mortensen down the left side.
Reggie Frischknecht picked off Morgan (8-4) quarterback Beck Sheffield on a deep throw early in the second quarter. Morgan got a stop, but Sheffield was sacked on the Trojans’ next drive, fumbled, and the Templars recovered.
Starkweather — his first name, Maison, is French for “house” — ran to the house on the next play for a 14-0 lead.
Morgan found its best method for stopping Starkweather was to pressure him, and the Trojans sacked him five times in the game.
But Starkweather (25 for 38, 292 yards, three touchdowns) went back to the middle of the field, where he and his receivers flourished all game long, and found Hunter Stevens for a 51-yard, catch-and-run TD to put Manti up 21-0.
“I feel like since last year, probably kind of used to the winning part in the playoffs and we probably thought that we were gonna get semifinals handed to us, and Manti just came out swinging and we were not ready for it,” Nelson said.
It could’ve been much worse for Morgan as it had issues with snaps, pass coverage and blocking on offense.
The Trojans faced their largest halftime deficit (21-0) since trailing South Summit by 43 points in 2017.
Lincoln Gilson caught a wide-open touchdown pass to get Morgan on the board (21-7) at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter.
The Templars responded on the ensuing drive, helped by critical Morgan penalties, and Mortensen wrestled the ball away from a defensive back for a 30-yard touchdown grab and a 28-7 lead.
Morgan responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive when Sheffield plowed in for a 1-yard TD, then Christian Nunez recovered the ensuing onside kick to give the Trojans the ball at the Manti 42.
Tate Nelson caught an 11-yard touchdown at the goal line a few plays later and the Trojans were back in business, down 28-21 with 9:09 left.
Not even 3 minutes later, the Templars walked into the end zone on a 1-yard run to go back up 35-21.
Sheffield, who was sacked seven times and lost 112 yards, was sacked on fourth down to end Morgan’s next drive.
“They had our number up front, schematically did a good job and their guys, they played their guts out. They played hard,” Morgan coach Jared Barlow said.
Morgan had another drive after stopping Manti. That one ended in an incompletion, and the Templars kneeled out the clock.
The Trojans held Manti to 2 rushing yards and saw particular success in the second half, just not enough to come all the way back.
“I thought (our response) was great, we came and battled. Manti made a few more plays, they’ve done a lot of work,” Barlow said.
The result was particularly satisfying for the Templars, who’d lost back-to-back games against Morgan in 2021-22 by a 42-0 score.
It also puts a central Utah flavor on next weekend’s 3A title game. Manti (10-2) will face No. 1 Richfield (12-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at Southern Utah University. Richfield won the teams’ regular-season 3A South region game 28-7.
It’s Richfield’s first title-game appearance since 1988 and Manti’s first since 2013, though Manti won back-to-back titles in 2A in 2011-12. Richfield hasn’t won a state championship since beating Grand County 14-13 in 1984.
2A: SOUTH SUMMIT 17, LAYTON CHRISTIAN 14
HERRIMAN — No. 3 Layton Christian led 14-0 at the half but could not find the end zone after the break in a 2A semifinal loss to No. 2 South Summit at Zions Bank Stadium.
Both teams’ locker rooms were a few yards apart inside the Real Salt Lake training complex, so the LCA players could hear the raucous South Summit celebration nearby.
“I told them to keep their heads up, make this a lesson. Life’s about ups and downs, man, and you know, we gotta fight through it,” LCA head coach Ray Stowers said.
The two teams played on Sept. 15 in 2A North region play and South Summit won 28-21.
Marcus Miles scored on a 19-yard quarterback keeper to get Layton Christian on the board with 3:53 in the first quarter. That run capped an 88-yard, 13-play drive that took 8:07 off the clock. The Timi Olubisi PAT was blocked and LCA led 6-0.
South Summit (10-2) answered with a long drive of its own. A Trey Stembridge 11-yard run gave the Wildcats first-and-goal at the LCA 1-yard line. The Eagles stuffed running plays on first and second down, and forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to keep South Summit out of the end zone.
Layton Christian then put together another 8-minute, 18-play, 99-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Trevor Halalilio 1-yard touchdown run with 1 minute left in the first half. Miles passed to Elijah Elliss for the 2-point conversion.
South Summit scored on a 19-yard pass on the first possession of the second half. With LCA driving, the Wildcats picked off a Miles pass at their own 19.
Two plays later, Mitchell Gempeler caught a Bracken Lassche pass behind the Eagle defense and went 77 yards for a score — and the game was tied 14-14 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
“It’s all about the preparation during the week, you know, and I feel like a little down week, the boys got a little complacent, that’s part of it,” Stowers said. “And we cannot overlook anybody, but, you know, it’s been one of those, where just the ball didn’t go our way.”
Lassche completed 17 of 23 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns to lead South Summit. Gempeler caught seven passes for 181 yards and a score.
South Summit recovered an Eagle fumble at midfield and Oscar Dominguez later booted the game-winning, 34-yard field goal with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter.
LCA drove down the field for the potential tying or winning score, then South Summit forced another fumble — the third LCA turnover of the half — with 2:37 left in the game and recovered it at its own 12-yard line.
“We put our defense in a bad position, and then that’s what it’s come down to,” Stowers said.
Layton Christian totaled 376 yards of total offense and dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 33:13 compared to South Summit’s 14:47.
Miles passed 14 of 19 for 162 yards and ran for 52 yards, while Halalilio rushed 23 times for 134 yards to lead LCA. The Eagles end the season with a 6-5 record.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.