Parma football breaks away late, repeats as 2A champion

POCATELLO - As quarterback Trevor Kramer took a knee, tight end Randy Riley turned to the Parma High crowd, lifted his helmet and let out a roar.

The crowd in Holt Arena returned his greeting - screaming and waving in celebration of the Panthers' second consecutive 2A state title.

Parma (11-0) extended its state-leading winning streak to 22 games with Friday's 36-20 win over Declo (11-1).

"This is one of the greatest games ever," Riley said. "Hats off to Declo. They played an amazing game. I have all the respect in the world for them."

After the Hornets and Panthers exchanged handshakes, Parma senior linebacker Israel Urrabazo held tight to the championship trophy as teammates buzzed around him, the glow of a second title lighting his face.

"It was insane," Urrabazo said. "The atmosphere was crazy. It was loud. You couldn't hear anything, but we just stayed together and got the win."

Last year's title game between these same teams went to overtime, and with 9:44 to play in the fourth quarter, it looked as though it might happen again.

Senior quarterback Jeremy Jenkins pulled Declo to within 21-20 on a 1-yard run. Declo then forced the Panthers to punt after gaining just six yards on three plays.

The momentum shifted, however, when the Panthers were able to recover their own punt after a Declo player unknowingly touched the football, which Parma's Devin Erickson recovered at the Declo 13-yard line.

Senior Tyler Ford ran the ball in for a score on the next play and junior Lance Johnson added a two-point conversion for a 29-20 lead. Ford finished with two TDs and a game-high 105 yards on 17 carries, while Johnson added two TDs and 98 yards on 16 carries.

"I said a long time ago, to win a state title you have to be a little bit lucky," Parma coach Greg Asbury said, referring to the fortuitous bounce on the punt. "I think we were today."

Parma added one more TD on a 5-yard scamper by Kramer and Jed Ferguson and Mike Condie each sacked Jenkins on the Hornets' final possession to seal the victory.

"I love these kids," Asbury said. "That's the hardest part of this deal is losing kids like this every year, but somebody else will step up."

Parma did what it does best - dominate on defense. Despite allowing their first rushing TD of the season by the starting defense, the Panthers ended Declo drives in the red zone on downs on three of the Hornets' four first-half possessions.

"We also dominated, I thought," Asbury said. "We ran the ball very well. A lot of people didn't think we could do that so I'm pretty proud of them."