SALT LAKE CITY — Chris Solomona boiled it down to the fourth quarter.
Roy’s third-year head coach and 25 hopeful seniors reached 5A’s final exam as the No. 1 team in the state, but No. 2 Bountiful, led by Siaki Fekitoa’s 255 rushing yards and four touchdowns, proved the superior power, pushing past the Royals late for a 42-35 victory in the state championship Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Through all phases, Roy (12-2) seemingly had an answer for everything.
The Royals rebounded from a scoreless first quarter, claimed a 21-14 halftime lead and tied the contest twice — first on an onside kick touchdown and again on the ground with 4:37 remaining — in the second half. Despite such efforts, the Redhawks (13-1) had just enough gas in the tank at the right time.
Bountiful represents both of Roy’s losses this season, once during the regular season and again in season-ending fashion Thursday, both by the same final scores. Jason Freckleton’s Redhawks denied Roy, a program making its fourth all-time championship appearance and seeking its second state title in 60 years.
“They sacrifice so much,” Solomona said. “Us coming up short, it hurts. It stings.”
Roy’s lone state football championship rests in 1981 under coach Ernie Jacklin. Bountiful will soon hang its first banner since 2003, representing its sixth all-time title.
Seniors Logan Cella (153 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Dru Gardner (15 completions, 210 yards) led Roy’s offense, with senior speedster Robert Young adding 75 receiving yards and another touchdown on the ground.
Contrary to last week, Roy’s opening pair of drives were far from the mouth punch Timpview received in the semifinal round. In that game, the Royals opened the game with a statement scoring drive; Thursday didn’t share such a confident tone.
Senior Kahekili Elenke (24 yards) lost control of a would-be 40-yard touchdown reception on Roy’s opening drive, resulting in a missed 55-yard attempt by senior Colby Frokjer, who’d nailed two field goals from 50-plus range a week ago.
Bountiful’s quarterback-tailback duo of Emerson Geilman and Fekitoa found a rhythm from the first snap, leading the Redhawks down the field for a 5-yard Fekitoa touchdown. Gardner struggled to complete second and third-down passes on the subsequent drive, leaving Roy empty after two drives.
Roy senior Moni Keiaho, finding a lane to Geilman for a fourth-down sack and loss of 2 yards, produced a much-needed stop for the Royals late in the first quarter.
Starting at Roy’s 29-yard line, Gardner grooved the Royals into Bountiful territory with two first-down passes to junior Zay Morris (54 yards); Young opened the second quarter twisting his way into the red zone.
Cella delivered a 14-yard touchdown answer with 9:47 to go in the second quarter, but Bountiful quickly regrouped behind Geilman and Fekitoa.
Using nearly four minutes, the Redhawks evaded a questionable holding penalty, ultimately picked up by the officials and validating a 24-yard Geilman touchdown scramble reclaiming a 14-7 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half.
“They’re sound all around,” Gardner said. “(Fekitoa) and (Geilman) are both insanely good, D-I caliber players. They’re sound all around just like we are.”
Cella added his second touchdown of the day on the following drive with 2:47 remaining in the half. With a late stand, Roy capitalized on a lengthy Bountiful field goal attempt when senior Cade Draper blocked Landon Zayas’ kick for a fourth-down turnover.
Roy burned two timeouts during the final 1:07 of the half, with Gardner managing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Young with just 10 seconds left. Senior Hunter Webb sprinkled on some extra momentum heading into the locker room with a clock-expiring sack near midfield.
“We told the boys going into halftime to leave it all out there,” Solomona said. “I can’t thank them enough for what they did today. … We just couldn’t find a way to stop their run down the stretch.”
A poor opening drive by Bountiful, resulting in a quick punt, was redeemed with a Young fumble forced by Joshua Liljenquist and recovered by Manu Tia near the Redhawks 40-yard line. Bountiful didn’t capitalize right away, but pinned Roy deep and forced the Royals to punt it right back on fourth-and-19.
The Redhawks continued chewing the third-quarter clock on their third drive, resulting in an 11-yard Fekitoa touchdown run. Roy grinded its way into field goal range after the score, but Frokjer missed his second attempt, this time from 48 yards away, with roughly two minutes left in the third quarter.
Geilman and Bountiful’s offense kept cooking after Roy’s missed opportunity, marching down the field and opening the fourth quarter with a 17-yard touchdown catch by Connor Clark, turning the Redhawks’ 21-14 halftime deficit into a 28-21 lead.
The following kickoff backfired severely, however, with Zayas’ onside attempt floating into the hands of junior Ryker Cordero, who hauled in the near-instant answer for the Royals by racing 48 yards to paydirt.
“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations,” Gardner said.
Tied up 28-28, Bountiful picked itself right back up after the blown kickoff and charged back into Royals territory on two large rushes by Geilman and Fekitoa, the latter who punched in an 8-yard touchdown run to give the Redhawks back their one-score advantage with eight minutes to go.
Roy’s offense returned with some added pace. A first-down catch by senior Rhett Slater (46 yards) played right into that theme, setting the Royals up near the Bountiful 25-yard line. Offensive pass interference called against Morris retracted the junior wideout’s would-be touchdown catch and healed Gardner’s gutsy, 15-yard dash into the end zone on third-and-9.
The score left 4:37 remaining with a 35-35 knot — just enough time for the Redhawks to turn on Fekitoa’s jets for one final scoring drive, decisively marching and leaving just 19 seconds remaining to take a 42-35 lead.
With no timeouts, Gardner completed three first-down passes on the game’s final drive, including a deep toss to Frokjer inside Bountiful’s 10 as the clock expired.
In mere moments, Gardner shared the near-exact feeling the Royals endured a decade ago.
“We’re hoping that the community remembers this team specifically just like we do that 2014 team,” Gardner said. “We know that we’re Roy built … we don’t get any transfers, ever. I think historically we’ve lost more guys than we’ve gained and that’s what makes this team so special.”
In Utah prep football history, 94 teams have lost in the championship game and made it back to the finals the following year. Bountiful joined that club Thursday, redeeming last year’s 23-15 loss to Timpview.
Roy High 0 21 0 14 – 35
Bountiful 7 7 7 21 – 42
FIRST QUARTER
3:59 – Bountiful touchdown: Fekitoa 5-yard run. PAT good. (BHS 7, RHS 0)
SECOND QUARTER
9:47 – Roy touchdown: Cella 14-yard run. PAT good. (RHS 7, BHS 7)
5:56 – Bountiful touchdown: Geilman 24-yard run. PAT good. (BHS 14, RHS 7)
2:47 – Roy touchdown: Cella 3-yard run. PAT good. (RHS 14, BHS 14)
0:10 – Roy touchdown: Young 6-yard pass from Gardner. PAT good. (RHS 21, BHS 14)
THIRD QUARTER
5:19 – Bountiful touchdown: Fekitoa 11-yard run. PAT good. (RHS 21, BHS 21)
FOURTH QUARTER
11:55 – Bountiful touchdown: Clark 17-yard pass from Geilman. PAT good. (BHS 28, RHS 21)
11:47 – Roy touchdown: Cordero 48-yard kickoff return. PAT good. (RHS 28, BHS 28)
8:06 – Bountiful touchdown: Fekitoa 8-yard run. PAT good. (BHS 35, RHS 28)
4:37 – Roy touchdown: Gardner 15-yard run. PAT good. (RHS 35, BHS 35)
0:19 – Bountiful touchdown: Fekitoa 1-yard run. PAT is good. (BHS 42, RHS 35)
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
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