SALT LAKE CITY - After missing his first three kicking attempts of the day, junior backup kicker Jaron Bentrude found the inside of the uprights in giving Juan Diego a 21-18 last second win over Hurricane to win the 3A State Championship.

Bentrude missed his first point after touchdown wide right, the second PAT hit the metal upright and the third PAT was blocked by Hurricane’s Ian Gates.  So with just 3.2 seconds left, Bentrude nailed a 23-yard field goal to help secure the Soaring Eagles first ever 3A title.

JD took the opening kick and roared 70 yards on 11 rushing plays with Tyler Morales hitting the end zone, giving JD a early 6-0 lead.  Hurricane took their opening kick and two players fought for the ball and knocked each other down at the 15-yard line. The Region 9 champs looked very  mediocre the first quarter, while JD manhandled Hurricane on both sides of the ball.

Juan Diego intercepted a Jase Langston pass on Hurricane’s first possession and they marched down to the Tiger 9-yard line, before the tight Tiger defense came up with a turnover with Danan Wood recovering a fumble to end the drive.

The Tigers defense made good adjustments to the JD team, who played no huddle all game long. Hurricane finally put together a solid drive with a 14-play 70-yard drive, ending with sophomore Corey Edwards drilling a  23-yard FG to tighten the game at 6-3.

Hurricane made a major mistake with 8.3 seconds remaining in the half. They kicked the ball to Lars Gunderson at the 3-yard line and the junior ran through a whole the size of a parting Red Sea and went 97-yards to quickly elimate an momentum Hurricane had going into halftime. Gunderson’s kickoff return was the second longest in UHSAA playoff history. It would come back to haunt the Tigers.

Hurricane did rebound in the second half. On their opening drive, H-town got their game back in full motion, taking advantage of a pair of JD mistakes before Gordie Dotson scored his first of two TD’s, this time from 19-yards out. Edwards kick tightened the game at 12-10.

JD showed grit, countering Dotson’s score with one of their own as QB Brian May hit Tyler Bauman for a TD.

Hurricane was absolutely determined to come back and put together a remarkable drive late in the fourth quarter. Facing overwhelming challenges, Hurricane made play after play. A remarkable catch by Chance Johnson on a third and long kept the drive alive. And the Tigers finally scored on their 15th play of the drive with Dotson scooting into the endzone untouched. Hurricane had to go for the two point conversion and was successful with their leader Dotson crossing the goal line to knot the score at 18-18 with 50.7 seconds left.

That time proved to be enough as May found Tana Vea on a screen pass that went for 55 yards taking the ball to the Tiger two-yard line. Three plays later, JD could not find paydirt and call on Bentrude for what proved to be the championship kick.

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