SALT LAKE CITY — As the final seconds ticked off the clock at Friday's 4A state championship football game, Timpview's fans started chanting, “Dy-na-sty! Dy-na-sty!”

After a convincing 35-6 victory over Springville at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the T'Birds' fourth straight state title, there is no one left to argue.

Timpview quarterback Trevor Brown passed for three touchdowns and ran for 90 yards and another score, but it was the T'Bird defense that made the critical plays to keep Springville from mounting a challenge. Timpview forced four interceptions and six fumbles (Springville lost only one). The biggest defensive play of the game was made by senior linebacker Ofa Latu, whose third quarter “Pick Six” squashed Springville's momentum and gave Timpview a 21-6 lead.

“He's a stud,” said Brown, who didn't take a snap all week in practice because of a sore throwing shoulder. “That interception, that Pick Six, that turned the whole game around right there.”

Timpview (11-2) dominated play in the first half but only came away with a 14-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Brown and 7-yard scoring pass from Brown to Zach VanLeeuwen. Twice the T'Birds fumbled the ball away in scoring position.

“We knew we could move the ball offensively,” Brown said. “We gave them (Springville) the ball one too many times and we should have converted more. We were kind of sluggish how we started off, but our defense played excellent.”

Springville (11-2) finally got into the end zone late in the third quarter when Alema Key capped a 12-play, 81-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Red Devils forced a Timpview punt and took over at their own 31-yard line. On the first play, Latu intercepted Springville sophomore Steve Bate, broke a tackle and raced down the sideline 32 yards to the end zone.

From that point on, Timpview was in control. Josey Trammel and Jeremiah Burr both scored on short passes from Brown for the T'Birds in the fourth quarter and the championship was complete.

Brown, who is being recruited by Kansas, LSU, BYU, Utah and Utah State, becomes the third quarterback to win championships in the four-season run, following Quinn Mecham and Casey Rumsey.

“I was just doing my job to keep this tradition alive,” Brown said. “I did my part and the team came together and we got a win.”

Springville played hard but made too many mistakes, with the five turnovers and 15 penalties for 114 yards.

“It's a tremendous thing to get this far,” Springville head coach Scott Mitchell said. “Our coaches have done a great job, our players have done a great job. We've come a long way in two years. The defense played tough today. We put them in a heck of a bind. You can't turn over the ball like we did against a good team and expect to win.”

Key was a bright spot for Springville with 14 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown. He also added eight tackles. Senior defensive end Jeff Gueck led the Red Devils with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Junior defensive tackle Landon McKell added nine tackles, a fumble recovery and three tackles for loss.

The end of the game turned ugly for both teams with numerous personal fouls as frustration came to a boiling point. Springville's Todd Gillies was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter.

The last Utah high school team to win four or more football championships in a row was Skyline, who claimed five consecutive 5A crowns from 1995-1999.

“They're all the same, a championship is a championship,” Wong said when asked to compare the four title teams. “The guys earned it, that's the thing. Nothing was given to them. You get out of it what you put in, and they got out of it a championship because they practiced like champions. They gave effort and the heart of a championship.”

Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 801-344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com

Team Statistics

    Timpview    Springville

First Downs    19    17

Rushing    42-207    32-119

Passing    12-19-142-0    13-29-120-4

Total Yards    349    239

3rd downs    8/12    6/11

Penalties    7-75    15-114

Time of Possession    23:06    24:54

Individual Leaders

Timpview

Rushing: Brown 19-90, Trammel 8-47, Burr 9-38, McKenzie 6-32.

Passing: Brown 12-19-142-0.

Receiving: VanLeeuwen 5-56, Hatch 2-46, McKenzie 1-14, Jorgensen 1-11, Raymond 1-11, Burr 1-2, Trammel 1-2.

Tackles: Clark 4-5-9, Latu 2-6-8, Badger 2-4-6, B. Christianson 3-2-5, Quiterio 3-2-5.

Springville

Rushing: Key 14-84, Case 6-25, Gray 2-16, Paystrup 5-9, Bate 2-1.

Passing: Bate 8-18-81-4, Gray 5-11-39.

Receiving: J. Sumison 7-74, Key 3-25, Case 2-19, Paystrup 1-2.

Tackles: J. Gueck 4-6-10, Harris 4-5-9, L. Mckell 2-7-9, Gillies 5-3-8, Key 4-4-8.

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