9:11 AM, Nov. 19, 2011
| SALT LAKE CITY - As the snow continued dumping from the sky in Friday night's 3A football state title game, the more it became an adventure for two teams that like to run.
While Hurricane worked its usual mastery on the ground - 263 yards on 58 carries in a 21-0 shutout that netted its first state title in 63 years - the Desert Hills ground game was basically bottled up.
The Thunder finished the night with just 51 yards rushing on 29 carries, an average of less than two yards per try. Mike Needham, who ran for 165 yards in last week's 23-21 semifinal win over Cedar, was limited to 37 yards on 18 carries against the Tigers.
With running the ball turned into an adventure, Desert Hills was forced to go to the air, and Hurricane was ready. Porter Harris threw for 66 yards and three interceptions in the Thunder's first 3A title game appearance.
SLOPPY BEGINNINGS: The snow started falling about a half-hour before kickoff and steadily got worse throughout the game. Hurricane had the game's first turnover with a fumble late in the first quarter, and Desert Hills gave the ball back three plays later on the first of Harris' three interceptions.
To finish out the down side of what ended up being a scoreless first quarter, Hurricane quarterback Taylor Parker threw his only interception of the game two plays after the Tigers got the ball.
As the game wore on and the snow picked up in intensity, the Tigers plodded through and didn't commit a turnover the rest of the way.
ONE FOR THE PAST: Utah offensive lineman and former Hurricane Tiger Daniel Nielson was on the field to celebrate with his former teammates.
He, like many Tigers before, were sharing the moment.
"It's good to see. It's good to see a come through after three years losing at state," Nielson said. "Not too many teams can pull themselves through that."
Many members of the championship Tigers were very open about getting the victory for the ones who came before them.
"They're our inspiration. Each loss made us work harder and makes this feels so good," Hurricane senior tight end Colton Marshall said.
ONE FOR REGION 9: Despite losing DesertHills coach Jake Nelson was proud.
He was not only proud of his team for making it to the state title, but that the state trophy was coming home with a Region 9 squad.
"We showed fans how tough we are with three teams in the semis and two in the championship," Nelson said.
The Tigers are the first team from Region 9 to win since Snow Canyon took the crown in 1999. Dixie won it 1998 and Snow Canyon won in 1996 as well.
"It was nice to get Region 9 a title. It's been a while," Homer said. "Maybe we can move forward. We're competitive, but we hadn't won one in a while."
NO JUAN: Though the Tigers won the state title, there will always be the lingering question: What would have happened in Hurricane played arch-nemesis Juan Diego?
It's not a question many will think about, given what Hurricane accomplished.
"Everyone wanted the Juan Diego match-up," Nielson said. "But it's about the glory, it's about being a state champion. Everyone wanted a shot, but it wasn't their year."
Spectrum sports reporter Paul Delos Santos and Jon Oglesby contributed to this report.
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