Blink and you missed. Eagle storms past Borah for division crown, 6A SIC title game berth
The door cracked open for the Eagle football team Friday, and the Mustangs broke it down to clinch their third straight 6A SIC River Division title and trip to the conference championship game.
Eagle routed Borah 35-22 at Dona Larsen Park, scoring 28 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to secure a first-round playoff bye and at least one home playoff game.
The spark came with a seemingly innocuous penalty just before halftime. But the Mustangs (7-1, 5-0 6A SIC River) pounced on the sliver of an opportunity to take control of the game.
“We’re just a really good team,” Eagle quarterback Austin Ramsey said. “You give us a little chance to go do anything, and we’re gonna take it to the moon.”
Eagle lined up for a desperation 54-yard field goal attempt from Lucas Boockholdt trailing 3-0 with a minute left until halftime. The kick fell short, but Borah (5-3, 3-2) roughed the long snapper on the attempt, awarding Eagle 15 yards and first down.
Five plays later, Ramsey scrambled and found Dallin Snooks for a 5-yard touchdown with 6 seconds before halftime. But the snowball was just getting started.
Aaron Zrno returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards to the house. Eagle’s Connor LeBeau snared an interception on the first play of Borah’s ensuing drive. And two plays later, Noah Burnham leapt into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run.
All told, the flurry saw Eagle put up 21 points with less than two minutes coming off the game clock.
“We’ve got a lot of star power,” Eagle coach James Cluphf said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can take it to the end zone at any point.”
Eagle kept rolling in the second half as Ramsey found Burnham for a 39-yard touchdown pass and hit Jake Benson for a 57-yard score to build a 35-10 lead. The junior started the night with a pair of interceptions, including one in the Borah end zone. But he finished 9-for-15 for 165 yards and three TDs.
Burnham also racked up 148 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and he hauled in three passes for 47 yards and score.
6A SIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The victory sends Eagle to the conference championship game for the third straight year, where the second-ranked Mustangs will travel to take on No. 1 Rocky Mountain (8-0, 5-0 6A SIC Foothills) in the game fans have waited all year for.
The neighbors, separated by less than 4 miles, have met every year since Rocky Mountain opened in 2008. The regular-season schedule didn’t make room for the latest Herb Criner Bowl matchup this year. But the Grizzlies and Mustangs ensured they’ll face off one more time with a conference championship on the line.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” Ramsey said. “All the talk, all the hype, all that.
“… They’re a great-caliber team. We’re a great-caliber team. I think this is going to be a dog fight. I can’t wait to go out there and see the matchup.”
The winner of the conference championship clinches home-field advantage in both the state quarterfinals and semifinals. The loser would potentially need to travel for the semifinals.
BORAH COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
The Lions’ turnover-happy defense forced three takeaways to fluster Eagle early. But Borah could never recover from the Mustangs’ midgame onslaught.
Quarterback Dylan Luekenga completed 39-of-55 passes for 397 yards and three touchdowns to head the comeback. He led the Lions to 19 points in the fourth quarter, but Borah could never get any closer than the final margin of 13 points.
Ayden Melendez topped the Lions’ wide receiver group with 13 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Mason Monteleone added seven catches for 139 yards, and Mason Lott and Karden Haplin also added touchdown catches.
Borah still finished second in the River Division despite the loss and will face rival Capital (2-6, 2-3) next week in a winner-to-state matchup in the 6A SIC cross-division round. The Lions beat Capital 37-21 earlier this year.
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 11:44 PM.
