The Kearns High varsity football boys won Regional Championships for the first time in 24 years. The last championship was in 1989. Our varsity cougars were picked to finish first in the region before Granger and Hunter in the preseason region 2 coaches poll.
Kearns is in the 6A lower bracket, being paired with Pleasant Grove for their state tournament game Friday, October 27th. In 2016, Kearns finished their season with an overall record of 8-3, coming in second in region 6 with a 4-1 record losing it to Woods Cross in the 4A first rounds of last year’s season. Kearns won a total of Nine out of Ten games, Lone Peak being the only team we lost to it’s no wonder how we got in the 6A class of the 2nd region.
Seeing as this is Kearns first time in 24 years winning championships the Cougar Claw asked a few of the football affiliates what their thoughts on the game were. Our first response was from Isaac Matua, Quarter back number nine. “When the game came to an end everyone was very emotional. It was a little heart breaking to think about this being the last time we’ll be together as brothers like this. However there are opportunities for all of us to move up to college football.” The cougar claw also asked him how he felt going into the game “Coach always tells us to treat every game like its championships. I was feeling pretty confident and I tried my best and did what I could” The Cougar Claw asked him how he felt during the last moments of the game. “It’s hard to describe but I was feeling very energetic an anxious.”
“The crowd was extremely loud,” he added. Lastly, we asked him how this game. compared to a regular game “Rickards tells us to treat every game as if its championships. It was challenging but everyone had determination, there was a lot on the line”
The Cougar Claw also interviewed Sese Felila. We started off by asking him how he felt about the game day. “It was crazy, I’ve been in a championship game 2 years before it’s always a big deal.”
Friday October 27, 2017, Kearns faced off against Pleasant Grove for the first game of playoffs. Kearns started and ended in the 4A bracket in 2016; however this year, Kearns jumped up into the 6A lower bracket.
Kearns started with the ball by winning the coin toss. The game was a lengthy battle that sadly didn’t come out in the Cougars’ favor. The final score of first quarter was 14-7, the first touchdown being thrown by Isaac Matua number nine at the magical time of 11:11. As the scores climbed and the game came to an end, Pleasant Grove won. Sending our Kearns Cougars to the end of their season with a score of 35-31.