Leading all game long, Morgan wrapped the story of 3A’s best football season with a 17-yard Bryce Milligan touchdown run, eclipsing the UHSAA’s mercy rule, which automatically ends a game when the deficit reaches 44 or more points after the third quarter.

Loading the bus for four-plus hours to Cedar City, Morgan looked and played like a team not leaving anything to chance.

“That’s something we work on a lot – just the mindset and controllables,” Barlow said. “We plan it out and try to limit distractions and put ourselves in the best situation, and that’s my job as a coach and their job as a kid, so the travel aspect of it isn’t that big of a factor for us just because of the way we try to prepare for the kids to be able to come out and execute. It’s not surprising to me just because of the work and preparation that they put in.”

It’s 10 all-time titles for the No. 1 Trojans, including the third of the Jared Barlow era (2022, 2024 and 2026), finishing out the season 11-2 overall; Morgan missed out on a third consecutive region title, which belongs to the Grizzlies following a 32-22 loss at Logan in late October.

Instead of sitting down, the Trojans saddled their mount for a 140-16 point differential over the 3A playoffs. That run included a major defensive performance on Saturday, as Logan struggled to produce much of anything beyond a 7-7 knot midway through the first quarter.

Logan, offensively, answered just one time – a 77-yard Easton Favero touchdown pass to Royce Sargent in the bout early – and the score ended up one of the few highlights for the Grizzlies in Saturday’s championship game. Shutting down Logan’s heavy-handed passer was a must on Saturday; Morgan gave up 315 passing yards (169 rushing) and 3 touchdowns to Favero during their lone region loss of the season.

“He’s a really good quarterback and a really good kid,” Barlow said of Favero. “We tried to disguise looks a little bit better – I don’t think we did a very good job of that the first time – so just disguising a bit more of what we’re trying to do and, defensively, just making sure kids had their eyes right. Up front on the defensive line, we created too many lanes and (Favero) rushed for a ton of yards the last time, so cleaning a few of those things up was really helpful.”

Morgan senior quarterback Owen Gilson put the Trojans on the board first with a 4-yard touchdown scamper, followed by two William Pace touchdown sequences (a short run and a 16-yard catch to go up 14 before the second quarter).

George Thurston (2 touchdowns) served up the gut punch for Logan, which let the Morgan junior phenom return an 80-yard punt and squeeze in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Gilson (4 touchdowns) for a 42-7 lead at halftime.

Last year’s backup quarterback, Gilson surpassed Cade Randall’s senior campaign with 2,837 passing yards and counting entering the 3A title game with Logan on Saturday. Barlow tipped his cap to the professionalism Gilson’s brought to the position this year, from the film room to the field.

“Part of his success is just his personality,” Barlow said of Gilson. “He’s not somebody that gets too excited or gets too down. Just a pretty level-headed kid. We talked with him after the (Logan loss) and said, ‘Hey, here are the things that we’re trying to do, and this is what they’re doing.’ His intelligence and his ability to forget things quickly, you know, really helped him, and he settled in for, in my opinion, one of the best games that he’s had all year.”

Two more scores – a 51-yard run by Thurston midway through the third quarter and Milligan’s game-ending run with 2:40 to spare – saw Morgan officially close the book on its 10th all-time football state title.

Morgan, which ran through the 3A bracket, including a rematch of the 2024 title game against No. 5 Richfield in the semifinals, is now a key question of the UHSAA’s upcoming realignment, set for a reveal on Thursday, Dec. 17.

Wherever the Trojans are competing next year, Barlow said this year’s team left an imprint on him and his coaching staff.

“One of the strengths of this group is just their ability to love each other,” Barlow said. “There are a lot of people who talk about that, but this team, you could see it day in and day out just how well they got along together… That’s one of the things I’ll remember about this group.”

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.