The 10-2 Cowboys met the undefeated 11-0 Enterprise Wolves for the 1A semi-final match last Friday night, as the Cowboys looked to avenge a 22-14 loss by the Wolves earlier in the season, and the Wolves were hoping to keep their record clean for the championship game.
Coach Quarnberg added, “We were confident going into the Enterprise game, we believed it would be hard for them to beat us twice.”
Both teams looked to set the tempo defensively in the first quarter as neither team was able to get much going until Brandon Dayea came up with a monster sack on the Wolves QB, causing a fumble, shifting the momentum to the Cowboys. It was just the energy they needed for Parker Franklin to run in the first score of the game behind a dominate Cowboys offensive front. Both offenses got going in the second quarter with the Wolves answering and converting the extra point try, which the Cowboys failed to do, making the score 7-6. With under a minute left before the half, the Cowboys Bone found senior, Derek Brown on a perfectly placed pass down the sideline, allowing Bone to run in a QB sneak with seconds left on the clock.
The Cowboys failed to convert the two-point conversion, making the score 12-7. Parker Franklin is probably still thinking about a chance he had for a pick-six with four seconds remaining before the half when the Wolves threw it, and Franklin jumped the route and saw no one between him and the endzone, but the Cowboys would confidently take their lead to the half.
Both teams came out strong in the third quarter, looking to set the tone for the second half, while neither team was able to put points up, it was the Cowboys defense that made a massive statement, with multiple sacks, tipped balls, near interceptions and downright nasty, tough, hardnosed football, where Cowboy defense was on the prowl every play. Max Kartchner caused a huge game-changing fumble, and after a roughing the passer penalty on the Wolves, the Cowboys were able to capitalize and score, stretching the lead to 19-7. Parker Franklin added a huge run and broke one, with Bone slamming it up the middle from the five-yard line to put an exclamation point on the victory 26-7.
The Enterprise Wolves aren’t a team that quits, so they quickly answered only allowing a few minutes off the clock to make it 26-15. The Wolves onside kick attempt didn’t work and after getting the ball back, Bone intercepted their final pass to seal the birth to the championship game under the bright moon light. Coach Quarnberg continued, “Our seniors stepped up, which is usually the case when you win playoff games. I am really proud of them.”
The Cowboys travel to St. George on Friday, November 11, to play the Layton Christian Eagles for the State Championship game, held in Utah Tech University’s newly renovated stadium. The only two losses the 10-2 Cowboys had all season was to the Wolves of Enterprise and the Eagles of Layton Christian. They avenged one loss, and let’s all show support as they seek to avenge the second.
Coach Quarnberg added more thoughts on LCA heading into the championship game, saying, “We are excited to be playing football for another week and for the opportunity to play in the championship game. We believe in ourselves and we want it badly. LCA is a very talented team and we haven’t been able to beat them up to this point. At the start of the year, Coach Hafen challenged us to ‘give it every damn thing we could come up with’ and that’s’ what we are going to do.”
