Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Timpview was the dynasty team, and Roy was the upstart program looking to make a splash.
It's safe to say, Roy made a name for itself on Friday.
As the top-ranked team in 5A, Roy felt like the underdog given Timpview's pedigree as perennial state championship winners, but none of that mattered when on the field as the Royals crowned themselves with a berth to the 5A state title game with a 29-19 win over the fourth-ranked Thunderbirds.
In a mostly back-and-forth, low-scoring affair, Roy managed a 58-yard field by Colby Frokjer — that likely had a good 5 or more yards in the kick — to tie the game up 19-19 with 9:35 left to play in the game.
The Royals considered a punt instead of a field goal after receiving a delay of game penalty that pushed the team back 5 yards, but Frokjer pleaded his case.
"They wanted to punt it after we got backed up, after our delay of game, and I just turned to them and I'm like, 'No, no, no, don't punt it. Don't punt it,'" Frokjer said. "And they just stopped, and they gave me the nod, and they're like, 'All right, we're gonna kick it.'"
The kick was enough to turn the tide in favor of the Royals, who previously had been mostly stopped by a stout defense that brought a swarming pressure every down.
The Thunderbirds attempted to get the advantage on the ensuing possession, getting the ball deep in Roy territory, but a fourth down, 28-yard pass down the sideline to Jaron Pula went incomplete as the receiver dropped the ball as he was going out of bounds.
A couple plays later, Roy quarterback Dru Gardner hit receiver Isaiah Morris in stride down the Timpview sideline for a 57-yard touchdown pass to swing the momentum fully in the Royals' favor with 3:51 left to play.
Timpview's ensuing possession didn't go much better after the team fumbled the ball on third-and-6 on a bobbled snap (quarterback Soakai Aston managed to jump on the ball), and then threw an incompletion on fourth-and-10 for a turnover on downs.
Without any timeouts to stop the clock, Roy just needed to pick up a first down to seal the win. But Timpview held firm to force a 53-yard field goal attempt.
After making a 58-yard kick early in the quarter, a 53-yard attempt for Frokjer was easy work, and the senior committed to Montana State didn't waver and split the uprights to give the top-seeded Royals a 10-point lead with 35 seconds left to play.
Senior Robert Young — who played both ways and managed 38 receiving yards and a touchdown, and 78 rushing yards and touchdown while often playing in the Wildcat — ended all hope with an interception at midfield.
"We've been waiting for a moment like this; and ever since we lost in the quarterfinals last year, our whole goal was to win state next year,"Frokjer said. "When we saw that they were gonna get in our way, we're like, 'Well, that's just another team in our way, like we're gonna go play how we play, and we're gonna go hand it to them.'
"We don't care what the name is on their jersey; we don't care that they won state last year. We just care about what we are right now. And we came into the game with a good mindset, and we just handed it them all game long."
Roy opened up the game with a brilliant drive that included several trick plays, including a converted fourth down on a QB misdirection as he pretended to get a play from the sideline as the ball was snapped to the running back, who picked up 4 yards and a first down.
Young capped off the 13-play, 77-yard drive with a toe-tapping 7-yard catch in the end zone to open up the game with a 7-0 lead.
Timpview managed a field goal on its first possession before scoring a touchdown on its next drive on a 22-yard pass to Pula, who did the rest to find the end zone. An bobbled snap on the PAT kept the Roy in front with a 10-9 lead.
The Thunderbird eventually took a 3-point lead late in the third quarter when running back Aisa Galea'i ran for 6 yards to pay dirt, but it was the last score of the afternoon for Timpview.
Roy now awaits the winner of the Bountiful and Bright semifinal game for next week's 5A state championship game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
