1A/2A/3A football recap: Kanab, Beaver win in semifinal upsets; Canyon View falls to Juab

Written by Jeff Richards
November 5, 2022
Kanab's Griffen Bone makes an interception to seal a 26-15 win over Enterprise, 1A football semifinals, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 4, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Two Southern Utah high school football teams, one from each of the 1A and 2A classifications, have advanced to the finals of their respective state tournaments.

In Friday’s semifinals at Southern Utah University, the Kanab Cowboys defeated the Enterprise Wolves to advance to the 1A championship game. Later that afternoon, also at SUU, the Beaver Beavers upset top-ranked South Summit with a convincing 35-0 victory in the 2A semifinals.

Meanwhile, in 3A action on Saturday morning, the Canyon View Falcons fell to the top-ranked Juab Wasps.

Following are recaps of each of the contests:

Kanab 26, Enterprise 15

The Kanab Cowboys avenged an earlier season loss to the Enterprise by ending the Wolves’ undefeated season. Quarterback Griffen Bone rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another. His first rushing TD came at the end of the second quarter and gave the Cowboys a 13-7 halftime lead.

Trailing by 11 late in the game, Enterprise managed one last drive to get within the red zone, but Bone made a game-clinching interception to seal the win.

Kanab, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, improved to 10-2 on the season with the win, while Enterprise fell to 11-1. The Cowboys will face top-seeded Layton Christian in the 1A finals next weekend at Utah Tech University in St. George. Layton Christian defeated Milford 24-3 in the other 1A semifinal on Friday.

Beaver 35, South Summit 0

The No. 4 seeded Beavers rolled to a shutout win over the top-ranked and previously undefeated South Summit Wildcats.

Beaver vs. South Summit, 2A football semifinals, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 4, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Beaver capitalized on three early turnovers to take a 21-0 lead in the first half, then added two more touchdowns in the second half. The final TD, a 39-yard pass from Tyten Fails to receiver Tate Gale on the first play of the fourth quarter, gave the Beavers a 35-point lead and triggered a running clock the rest of the way.

Ayden Bradshaw and Bodie Wheatley scored two touchdowns apiece for Beaver, which improved to 8-4 on the season.

The semifinal win sends Beaver to face another undefeated team, the San Juan Broncos, in next weekend’s 2A championship game in St. George. The 12-0 and second-seeded Broncos defeated Emery in Friday night’s other semifinal, a wild 56-48 contest.

Juab 37, Canyon View 21

The Canyon View Falcons saw their season come to an end on Saturday morning, falling to the Juab Wasps 37-21 at SUU.

The Wasps stung almost immediately, returning the opening kickoff past midfield, then scoring on a 40-yard TD pass on the very first play from scrimmage.

Both teams then punted on their next possessions. Soon thereafter, Canyon View got on the board with just under four minutes left in the first quarter when quarterback Jaxon Jensen scored on a 3-yard TD run. The ensuing PAT attempt failed, leaving the Falcons down 7-6.

Early in the second quarter, the Wasps picked up two more passing touchdowns, with quarterback Alex Jackson connecting with receiver Wesley Nielsen both times, from 18 and 25 yards out. The 2-point conversion attempt failed on the second TD, leaving Juab ahead 20-6 at that point.

However, Canyon View’s Jensen was able to answer with another 3-yard TD run a couple minutes later, cutting the Falcons’ deficit to 20-13.

Juab’s Ryker Richards then caught a TD pass and later kicked a field goal to boost the Wasps’ lead to 30-13 by halftime.

Neither team scored during the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Juab added yet another TD, a 40-yard scoring pass from Jackson to Nielsen to make it 37-13.

A few minutes later, Canyon View’s Deegan Davies threw a 6-yard TD pass to Traie Buhler, and the ensuing 2-point conversion pass attempt, also to Buhler, was successful, thereby accounting for what ended up being the 37-21 final score.

Canyon View finished its season with an 8-4 record, including playoff wins over both Carbon and Richfield. Juab, meanwhile, improved to 12-0 and will face the winner of today’s other 3A semifinal (Morgan vs. Grantsville) in next weekend’s championship game in St. George.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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