Things were stagnant.
With so much on the line, Park City needed a spark, something to awaken a crowd that had grown quiet after Wasatch had just dominated the third quarter of the de facto Region 10 championship game. Something to light a match underneath a silenced sideline.
The Miners needed a Superman moment and got it from-whom else but-a senior captain.
Jake Adams locked onto the Wasatch screen play. The defensive tackle picked off what would end up being the first of three second-half interceptions by the Miners and saw nothing but green turf on his way to the end zone.
“I saw that ball and I tipped it to myself and I just said, ‘Please let me go to the house,'” Adams said. “It felt amazing. I got lightheaded. I had no idea what was going down after I scored. I was out of breath.”
Adams had supplied that needed ignition, and then some.
His 46-yard interception return with 1:34 left in the third quarter planted the momentum flag firmly on the Park City sideline.
The Miners went on to win their eighth straight over their rival, including a third consecutive Region 10 title, 28-21, Thursday among a packed and raucous crowd at Dozier Field.
Park City also welcomed a monstrous performance by speedy running back Blake Thorne, who had 178 yards on the ground, including a first-quarter touchdown run, and also added a defensive sack to his evening arsenal.
Thorne’s inclusion on defense was a new kink thrown in by head coach Kai Smalley and worked to perfection, but as the game wore on and Thorne continued to pound the football, Smalley decided that one kink would be enough.
“It was something we worked on all week,” Smalley said. “I planned on using him more until I saw how tired he was.”
Park City jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead over the Wasps, which included an opening drive that featured Thorne and no one else. Five straight run plays for 51 yards including a 10-yard touchdown run, put the Miners up 6-0 after the extra-point kick was blocked.
Early on in the second, Paul Flake found the end zone on a quarterback keeper up the middle and found Adams in the end zone for the two-point conversion with his own version of a Tim Tebow-style jump pass.
That’s where things became sluggish.
The Park City offense ran into a three-and-out wall as Wasatch mounted a rally to knot the game up 14-14 with 8:49 left in the third quarter. Then came Adams’ headlining momentum-changer.
“Without our defense stepping up the way it did, we wouldn’t be in the position we are right now,” Smalley said.
After Adams’ interception return came an encore performed by a star wide receiver who has seen sparse time at cornerback in just one other game this season.
Jono Schettler read the route and went for the kill.
“Offense wasn’t going well this week, but defensively we stepped it up and I baited the quarterback on that one,” Schettler said. “I read his eyes all the way and took it in.”
Schettler’s return gave Park City a 14-point cushion with 6:08 left in the fourth quarter, but true to the long-lasting rivalry. Wasatch did not go quietly.
After Wasatch quarterback Tyler Purdy threw another interception 21 seconds later to Chad Wing, the Wasps’ defense held strong and gave its offense one more shot.
Wasatch responded with a quick, decisive drive that ended with a great pass to the back of the end zone to wideout Alex Probst, who made a toe-tapping touchdown with 2:12 left.
After winning the turnover battle 3-0 in the first half, Wasatch evened things out in the second half and was unable to overcome the costly mistakes.
“It was probably the perfect way to go down,” Smalley said. “Wasatch did a great job in that game. They fought us all the way to the end.”
Following the win, the players remained calm, collected and focused, not in like other games where the hooting and hollering took place. A team that overcame a difficult start to the season has its sights set on bigger things after rattling off five straight wins.
“We’ve been working toward this,” Jono Schettler said. “We’ve been working hard throughout the last week and focusing hard to make sure we got another Region 10 title.”
Afterward, Smalley said he couldn’t be happier for a group of players than the ones he has under his command right now.
“I can’t wait to go in and see the looks on those kids’ faces,” Smalley said. “That’s going to be a realization.
“People tried to write them off. Those kids didn’t have it. And where they are right now is a testament to how hard they’ve worked.”
As for the game-changing play by his senior captain and one of his closest players?
“I’ve never seen (Adams) move like that,” Smalley said.