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ORDER GAME PHOTOS
The Bear Lake Bears (10-1) earned their first football championship in school history with a strong defensive effort in a 14-6 win over Firth on Thursday night at Holt Arena.
Ethan Thornton led the way with two sacks, and the entire front seven continually harassed Firth (8-3) quarterback Gage Vasquez, one of the slipperiest dual-threat quarterbacks in the state.
Appropriately enough, the defense sealed the win with a defensive stop on a 4th-and-40 play with less than a minute to play.
The Bears broke through in the second quarter when Tayson Neal threw a 16 yard touchdown to Bryson Crane. On the extra point try, Garret Nelson of Firth blocked the kick. Holder Toby Flake picked it up on the bounce, and pitched it to Tyler Beresford, who ran it in from 25 yards away for the unlikely two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
That advantage held until late in the game, when Neal hit Tyler Beresford on a short route over the middle. Beresford took the pass 55 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 6:37 to play.
With their season on the line, Firth rallied with a five-yard score from Gage Vasquez to his cousin Alex Vasquez to bring the Cougars to within 14-6 with 4:35 remaining.
After a defensive stop, Firth had one final chance at tying the game, but their drive quickly unraveled due to penalties, leading to the aforementioned 4th-and-40 situation.
IdahoSports.com Player of the Game Tyler Beresford caught three passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Neal completed 9-of-18 passes for 182 yards and two scores.
Vasquez threw for 122 yards and a touchdown for Firth, while adding 78 yards rushing.
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