4A playoffs: Jacobson, Spanish Fork defense grind down Ridgeline in semifinal upset

SALT LAKE CITY — Brock Jacobson knew exactly where he was running when he took the snap out of the backfield on the 9-yard line in the final minute of Thursday's 4A state semifinal against top-seeded Ridgeline.

He had it all mapped out in his mind, to run up the middle, "like up the 2-4 hole" — until it wasn't there.

Plan B was just as sweet.

The 5-foot-8 senior two-way standout ran for 56 yards on nine carries, with none bigger than the 9-yard off-tackle touchdown with 23 seconds left to lift Spanish Fork to a 21-14 upset over top-seeded Ridgeline at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"I was going to go to the pylon, but I decided to just go in, lower the shoulder Ashton Jeanty-style and just pound the ball down," he said of emulating the Boise State star. "I'm like, we gotta go win this thing.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've had the ball almost every play," Jacobson added. "I love having the ball at game time, when you've got to go make plays."

It's the first 4A championship game appearance for the fourth-seeded Dons (11-2) in program history, and it came in an unconventional way.

Spanish Fork and Ridgeline (12-1) both entered Thursday night's showdown averaging over 40 points per game, an astounding 43.2 and 43.1 points per game, respectively.

Spanish Fork coach Dustin Smith expected a shootout, too. But when the chill dropped below 40 degrees on the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley, the ball turned hard and a slugfest opened up on the University of Utah turf.

"There were a couple of drives where we got within the 20, and got a bad snap, an offsides or a bad play," Jacobson said. "But we just had to keep rolling. Coach always say, next play — just play the next play, because you never know what's going to happen.

"You can fumble one play and get a pick six the next. Just keep on working, and trust the process of the next play."

Kaden Vest ran for 100 yards on 19 carries for Spanish Fork, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:10 left in the first half to tie the game after Jacobson converted a 13-yard touchdown to Jacob Johnson earlier.

McKay Smith completed 12-of-22 passes for 137 yards, and also threw an interception — officially, though it may be better called an "arm-punt."

That's because the pick was downed by the Riverhawks at the 1-yard line, and Spanish Fork's defense went to work.

"Our defensive coaches put a lot of time into preparing, and there was no quit in our defensive line and our secondary," Smith said. "I'm extremely proud of our defense; it was our defensive coaches' preparation that won this game."

Cael Cabreros had a team-high 12 tackles, Kal Roberts added 11, and Jacobson had nine stops to go along with six tackles and an interception for Gage Christensen as the Dons held the Riverhawks to just 88 yards in the second half.

JT White ran for 128 yards and a touchdown for Ridgeline, a 6-yard run with 8:14 left in the half to put the Riverhawks up 14-7.

Turns out, that would be the last the Cache Valley squad would hold.

Nate Dahle threw for 136 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a five-yard score on one of his seven carries for Ridgeline, which tried to grind the clock on one drive over half of the third quarter.

But that run stalled at the 3-yard line, when a miscue led to an illegal touching penalty on the offensive line on a fourth-down pass attempt.

And with the game on the line and the Dons grinding the clock down inside the final minute, Smith turned to his two-headed monster in the backfield and called Jacobson's run up the middle.

"You can't really go wrong giving Brock the ball," the fifth-year head coach said of his team that dropped a pair to crosstown rival Maple Mountain and Region 8 rival Provo. "I've coached him since fourth grade, and that isn't the first time we've been in that situation.

"If we weren't going to get it, I was going to have it go through Brock, Kaden or McKay. But what won us this play was all the other guys — guys that you don't normally read about."

Spanish Fork will face the winner of Friday's semifinal between Sky View and Crimson Cliffs in the 4A state championship next Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. MST at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"It's crazy," Jacobson said. "Ever since I was a little kid, I've wanted to play in a state championship. It just hasn't worked out for us. But we've got it now."

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