ST. GEORGE — The three-month-long high school football season comes to an end Friday night, as No. 1 seed Crimson Cliffs faces No. 2 Desert Hills for the 4A state championship game, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Utah Tech University’s Greater Zion Stadium.
Stay tuned later tonight for a full summary, video and analysis at stgeorgenews.com.
For radio coverage, follow Devin Dixon’ live broadcast on The Fan Sports Network 99.5 FM and 95.3 FM in St. George and 93.1 FM and 1400 AM in Cedar City.
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Tonight marks the second time this season that the Mustangs and Thunder have clashed on the field. Crimson Cliffs (now 10-2 overall) defeated Desert Hills (9-3) early in the regular season, on Sept. 2 at Desert Hills, with the Mustangs winning that contest, 21-14.
Historically, Desert Hills is 2-1 in football state championship games, with the Thunder having lost in 2011 but winning in both 2013 and 2016. Meanwhile, this is Crimson Cliffs’ first trip to the title game since the school first opened four seasons ago, in the fall of 2019.
This story is meant to provide brief but timely scoring updates. Check back later on St. George News for a more in-depth coverage, including a full game story, video highlights, and a photo gallery.
Final score: Desert Hills 30, Crimson Cliffs 14
9:37 p.m.
Crimson Cliffs made it as close as the Desert Hills 27-yard line before time ran out. The Thunder win the 4A state title, 30-14.
9:32 p.m.
The Thunder’s punt goes to the Crimson 5-yard line. Mustangs take over with a little more than 2 minutes left.
9:30 p.m.
Crimson takes its last time out. Desert Hills facing fourth and 4 on the Crimson 30-yard line with 2:26 left.
9:23 p.m.
Desert Hills recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt and has the ball at midfield and the Thunder are now trying to run off the remaining few minutes on the clock.
9:21 Desert Hills, 30, Crimson Cliffs 14
Crimson caps off a successful 80-yard drive with a TD pass from Steele Barben to Boston Adamson in the back corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion attempt was also successful, a pass from Barben to Jordan Eaton. Mustangs pull within 16 points with 4:38 left in the game.
9:14 p.m.
Desert Hills punts from midfield on fourth and 12. Touchback gives the Mustangs the ball on their own 20 with 6:56 left.
9:11 p.m.
Javiyen Cummings makes an interception for Desert Hills, the team’s third pick of the game. Thunder take over in Crimson territory with just under 9 minutes left.
9:08 p.m. Desert Hills 30, Crimson Cliffs 6
Following another Lincoln Holmes interception, the Thunder strike again, with Tyden Morris running it up the middle for a 3-yard score with 9:12 left.
9:02 p.m. Desert Hills 23, Crimson Cliffs 6
Cyrus Polu ran back the ensuing kickoff 90 yard for a touchdown, giving Desert Hills a 23-6 lead with 10:43 left.
9:00 p.m. Desert Hills 16, Crimson Cliffs 6
Crimson’s Christiansen advanced a pass reception to just inside the 20-yard line, after which Mason Topalian caught a pass and took it to the 10. Topalian then slipped up the middle for a 10-yard TD run with 10:58 left in the fourth. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, as Cyrus Polu tackles the runner for a loss.
8:50 p.m. Desert Hills 16, Crimson Cliffs 0
Desert Hills went for it on fourth and short, with quarterback Beau Wall keeping it for a 25-yard gain. A couple plays later, Wall pushes it the final yard into the end zone for a TD with 29 seconds left in the third. Xander Jones’ PAT kick is good, putting the Thunder up 16-0.
8:46 p.m.
Crimson punts the ball to the Desert Hills 48-yard line, where the Thunder will take over with about 5 minutes left in the third.
8:42 p.m.
Desert Hills advanced to their own 47 but ended up punting it away. Crimson takes over on their own 10-yard line with 6:52 remaining in 3Q.
8:37 p.m.
Crimson advanced the ball 18 yards before having to punt on fourth and 5 at the Mustangs’ 36. Desert Hills takes over on their own 30 with 10:21 left in 3Q.
8:33 p.m.
Second half starts with Desert Hills kicking off. Mustangs will start at their own 18.
8:16 p.m.
Quarterback Steele Barben scrambled for a nice run to get the Mustangs a few yards past midfield, but successive penalties backed Crimson up about 25 yards or so. Senior receiver Jordan Eaton appeared to injure his ankle after making a catch with 9 seconds remaining. Barben’s “Hail Mary” pass into the end zone as time expired fell incomplete. Halftime score Desert Hills 9, Crimson Cliffs 0.
8:08 p.m.
Desert Hills went for it on fourth and 7 on Crimson’s 33-yard line, but the pass was incomplete, so Crimson will take over with just under a minute left before halftime.
8:05 p.m.
Desert Hills punted with 2:49 left in 2Q, with Crimson taking over at their own 30-yard line. Crimson went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, but tried a fake punt on fourth and 10 and didn’t get the first down.
7:55 p.m.
Crimson picked up a couple nice first downs as the Mustangs made their way to midfield. However, quarterback Steele Barben’s long pass intended for a receiver the goal line was intercepted in the end zone by the Thunder’s Lincoln Holmes. Desert Hills takes over with just under 6:00 left in 2Q.
7:51 p.m.
Desert Hills punts for the first time in the game. Crimson takes over the ball on their own 35 with 7:36 left before halftime.
7:47 p.m.
Crimson Cliffs starts off the second quarter by driving to midfield before punting. Desert Hills will take over at their own 14-yard line with about 9 minutes left in the second quarter.
7:42 p.m.
Desert Hills misses a 38-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the first quarter. Still 9-0 in favor of Desert Hills.
7:32 p.m. Desert Hills 9, Crimson Cliffs 0
Xander Jones of Desert Hills kicks a 34-yard field goal to give the Thunder a 9-0 lead.
7:28 p.m.
Crimson Cliffs is forced to punt on its first possession, with the ball going back to Desert Hills at the Mustangs’ 48-yard line.
7:24 p.m. Desert Hills 6, Crimson Cliffs 0
Desert Hills scored on its opening drive, capping off a 65-yard drive with a TD pass from Noah Fuialetolo to Lincoln Holmes. The ensuing PAT attempt failed (the snap went over the reach of the kick holder). Thunder lead 6-0 with 9:02 left in the first quarter.
6:59 p.m.
There have been three other championship games on this same field earlier today, so the kickoff time for Crimson Cliffs vs. Desert Hills will be slightly delayed, by about 15 minutes to 7:15 p.m. In today’s first game, Layton Christian defeated Kanab 55-19 to capture the 1A title. That was followed by San Juan defeating Beaver 41-21 to win the 2A title for the second straight year. Then, later in the afternoon, in the 3A championship matchup featuring two teams that were 12-0 heading into the game, Morgan defeated Juab, 55-3.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.
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