It had been 12 years for the reason that Kanab Cowboys had prevailed over their most storied rival, and once they confronted an extended subject with two minutes remaining final Friday, one other impending loss to the Beaver Beavers loomed giant.
Barely a second after a buzzer sounded throughout the stadium to sign the tip of regulation, Kanab senior receiver Kasen Janes bought each fingers on a Hail Mary go to the tip zone between two defenders to tug the rating to 21-20. Moments later, senior Parker Franklin dove over the aim line for a game-winning conversion, and the streak was over, Kanab was victorious 22-21.
“It was large,” Kanab coach JR Quarnberg stated. “It’s been so lengthy, you virtually begin dropping the expectation to win, which makes it actually difficult to organize.”
The 2 faculties have been battling one another practically yearly since Beaver opened within the late Fifties. Beaver’s 12-year streak was the longest within the historical past of the rivalry, and due to that, your complete group round Kanab was aching for a win, particularly when the previous couple of years hadn’t even seen the Cowboys get even shut, because of some exceptionally dominant Beaver groups since 2019.
Main as much as Friday’s sport, Kanab summoned up nearly each ounce of fine vitality it may. Quarnberg’s father, Rod, a former Kanab head coach, spoke with the staff about what the Beaver sport meant to this system. Quarnberg even bought Kanab legend Arlyn Hafen, who's the namesake of the Cowboys’ stadium, to handle the staff.
“We tried to assist the youngsters perceive the historical past and what it’s meant to each applications,” Quarnberg stated. “I believe they began to sense that slightly bit.”
Beaver and Kanab make use of very comparable soccer groups, run-heavy wing-T offenses with bodily defenses, and it’s unlikely for both staff to throw the ball greater than 4 or 5 instances the entire sport. Quarnberg even stated that Kanab very hardly ever practiced a two-minute drill, largely utilizing it for conditioning fairly than sport preparation.
But, with two minutes on the clock, needing a landing, and never having time to run, junior quarterback Griffen Bone needed to belief a receiver, and Janes heeded the decision.
Even when the chances have been on their aspect, Beaver coach Jon Marshall had a pit in his abdomen.
“After we scored, I used to be wanting on the clock considering we must always have taken a pair extra performs to attain,” Marshall stated. “I don’t know the way everybody else felt about it, however I didn't really feel good in any respect.”
Certain sufficient, Janes hauled in an extended go over a number of defenders with mere seconds remaining to arrange a ball spike, stopping the clock at 3 seconds. Janes then delivered the magic on the subsequent play.
Bone completed with 139 yards on 8-of-17 passing with two touchdowns, each to Janes.
Rivalry discuss apart, the Cowboys, who haven’t received a state championship since 2007, will be emboldened of their chase for a 1A title by beginning with a win over a frontrunner for the 2A state championship. They’ll be closely favored of their upcoming Friday matchup on the street towards Millard this week.
In case anybody asks, Quarnberg stated he doesn’t plan on passing the ball extra usually sooner or later.