Trust is earned, and rewarded, as Rocky Mountain football hangs on to rivalry trophy

Everyone in the stadium knew where the ball was going, except maybe Nick Romano.

Facing fourth-and-2 with 52 seconds left, No. 1-ranked Rocky Mountain dialed up its senior running back’s number. A first down would ice the game. But Romano did the Grizzlies (7-0) one better, breaking off a 24-yard touchdown run to cap a 31-17 victory on the road Thursday over rival Eagle (4-3) in the Herb Criner Bowl.

“It was great that the coaches still had trust in me, that they gave me the opportunity to get that first down and put the game away,” Romano said.

Romano finished the night with 261 yards and three TDs on 37 carries. He also served as the Grizzlies’ leading receiver, catching three passes for 37 yards and his first receiving TD of the year, boosting his season total to 23 scores through seven games.

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It wasn’t all easy sledding for Romano, though. Eagle stuffed the senior for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the end of the third quarter, and the Mustangs sold out and stacked the box to stop Romano on the final drive.

But Rocky Mountain coach Chris Culig never hesitated to turn to Romano.

“He’s a stud. He’s a man. He’s physical,” Culig said. “He’s just a tough kid, and you give it to your best player.”

The last-minute touchdown put away a game that appeared headed for a tie just moments earlier. Eagle quarterback Ben Ford hit Dalton Mashore for a 95-yard TD pass with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter. The stands at Thunder Stadium rumbled. But a holding call wiped out the score and Eagle had to punt, setting up Romano’s final score.

“It was scary watching them run down the field and trying to get in the mentality that we need to answer back,” Romano said. “Thank God it ended up being a play where it got called back.”

The penalty capped a night of missed opportunities for Eagle. The Mustangs recovered the opening kickoff at the Rocky Mountain 22-yard line but had to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Austin Frisk. A botched punt then set Eagle up at the 10-yard at the end of the first quarter, but the Mustangs went backward and missed the ensuing field goal.

Eagle then spread the field after halftime and started gashing big runs on the Grizzlies’ normally potent defense. Undefeated Rocky Mountain found itself on its heels for the first time since the season opener, but eventually forced three second-half turnovers to hang on to the lead.

Junior Tiloi Nawahine led the way, recovering a fumble and making a leaping interception, both in the second half.

“It definitely took us by shock. You saw that in the first half,” Nawahine said. “All you can do is fight through it and try and improve. And that’s what we did.”

The two turnovers gave him one more than his cousin, Kaimana Nawahine, who had a first-half interception. Kaimana is the younger brother of Boise State safety Kekoa Nawahine. Tiloi is Kekoa’s cousin.

“He’s a junior and he’s never played corner,” Culig said of Tiloi. “He jumped in there and he’s doing a really good job. He’s got a lot of moxie. Like all the Nawahines, he just makes plays. They are always around the ball.”

Rocky Mountain had already clinched a playoff berth entering Thursday, but the victory ensures that Rocky Mountain will play its first postseason game at home.

It also allows Rocky Mountain to keep the Herb Criner Bowl trophy, named after the former Boise State, Eagle and Rocky Mountain coach.

His son, Rocky Mountain offensive coordinator Scott Criner, had never won the trophy before. He coached at Rocky Mountain when Eagle won it in 2016, and then was the Eagle athletic director in 2017 when the Grizzlies took it back.

“I wanted to get it for Herb and get it back home for his son, Scott,” Culig said.

First quarter

EAG — Austin Frisk 37 field goal, 10:30

RM — Brayden Hamilton 12 pass from Colby Jackson (run failed), 8:29

RM — Nick Romano 37 pass from Jackson (pass failed), 3:49

Second quarter

RM — Romano 60 run (run failed), 10:27

EAG — Kaden Baskett 28 pass from Ben Ford (Frisk kick), 6:20

Third quarter

RM — Romano 2 run (kick blocked), 6:37

EAG — Ford 37 run (Frisk kick), 5:39

Fourth quarter

RM — Romano 24 run (Josh Pratt kick), 0:52

RUSHING — Rocky Mountain: Colby Jackson 5-(-7), Dylan Olley 1-(-13), Nick Romano 37-261. Eagle: Nelson Russell 4-15, Ben Ford 17-151, Kaden Baskett 4-10, Jackson Stampfli 1-(-1), Charlie Baker 15-79, Team 1-(-10).

PASSING — Rocky Mountain: Jackson 9-18-1 150. Eagle: Ford 10-27-3 101; Drew Lajocies 0-1-0 0.

RECEIVING — Rocky Mountain: Conner Croft 3-72, Justin Jones 1-7, Romano 3-37, Brayden Hamilton 2-36. Eagle: Dalton Mashore 1-14, Russell 3-32, Baskett 5-53, Baker 1-2.

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 11:00 PM.