Crimson Cliffs defense, Tyler West’s kickoff return propel the Mustangs to 4A state championship game

CEDAR CITY — Crimson Cliffs defense forced three turnovers and junior Tyler West returned a kickoff for a game-clinching touchdown as the Mustangs defeated Ridgeline 27-13 Saturday in Cedar City.

Crimson Cliffs safety Jace Sweeten (left) makes the game-clinching interception against Ridgeline in a 4A semifinal football win, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 5 , 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“Honestly I really don’t know what happened on the play,” West told St. George News after the win. “I felt myself going down when one of my teammates picked me up and I kept going.”

West’s 89-yard return put Crimson ahead 20-13 with 2:03 left in the third quarter. It came just 17 seconds after Ridgeline had taken its first lead of the game, 13-12. 

And it turned the tide.

“Big time players make those plays in big time moments, right?” Mustangs head coach Wayne Alofipo said. “Ty is a big time player for us. He stepped up to the moment, flipped the game for us and brought the momentum back to us.”

The top-ranked Crimson Cliffs team took a 12-6 lead at halftime. 

Junior quarterback Steele Barben threw touchdown passes to West for 39 yards and to Boston Adamson for 16 yards early in the game.

Ridgeline answered with two field goals (27 yards, 22 yards) from kicker Aaron Young.

Ridgeline maintained ball control for much of the third quarter. Freshman Nate Dahle’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Olsen gave the Riverhawks their brief lead with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

But West took the ensuing kickoff back to the house to wrap it up for Crimson. West kept his legs constantly pumping and appeared to be stopped at one point on the return, but he busted loose and ran down the Ridgeline sideline for the score.

“We were ready. We practiced all week. We put our heads down and worked and got it done,” West said. “It feels really good to beat Ridgeline. One more game to go.”

Mason Topalian completed his outstanding game for Crimson with a 15-yard touchdown reception from Barben to provide the final margin with 8:29 remaining in the contest.

Crimson’s defense dug in and held off the last two drives from Ridgeline.

“We told the offense to control the clock and we knew if we could keep them off the field we had a chance,” Alofipo said.

The Mustangs sat in the stands at Southern Utah University’s football stadium Saturday night and watched Desert Hills play Mountain Crest to see who they would face for the state championship.

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