Weiser snaps Sugar-Salem's three-year 3A state title run in 2OT as Tom Harrison wins championship No. 11

POCATELLO, Idaho — Tom Harrison had seen a lot in his previous 14 state titles games as head coach.

But Friday night was a first.

The legendary coach had never experienced a finals overtime. On Friday night, he went through two.

Weiser ended Sugar-Salem’s three-year reign atop the classification in a thrilling 34-33 double overtime win in the Class 3A State Championship game at Holt Arena to break his own record with an 11th state title — the most in Idaho history.

“Oh, God. It was just stupid nuts,” Harrison said with a laugh. “Stupid nuts. 

“That’s just the way it’s been. Our kids showed a lot of heart and vigor down at the end. We made a play at the (end), and games like this come down to a few plays.”

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It’s the fourth different team Harrison has won a championship with. He did it with Raft River (1986), Snake River (1990, 95-96, 98-2002,), Pocatello (2006) and now Weiser, which when Harrison came in 2018, hadn’t had a winning season in seven years. Four seasons later, the Wolverines (12-1) have their first banner in 24 years.

“We went from not making the playoffs, being bottom end of the SRV, to in four years winning a state title,” senior quarterback Brett Spencer said. “He totally flipped the program around.”

But all of it also wouldn’t have been possible without Spencer, who made a strong case for 3A Player of the Year. He tallied 226 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.

Two plays late in the game may have cemented him as the best player in program history.

On a fourth-and-goal at the 7-yard line trailing 27-20 in the first overtime, Spencer slipped a tackle from Sugar-Salem’s Garisen Madsen before firing a pass across the middle of the field to his younger brother Brock to send the game to a second overtime.

After Weiser fullback Willy Shirts powered his way in for a 4-yard run and Carson Harris answered by hauling in a 10-yard pass from Daniel Neal, the Diggers decided to go for the win on the ensuing two-point conversion.

Neal dumped it off to Harris, who seemed like he was going to walk in again. Instead, Spencer showed exactly why he has a Division I offer from the University of Idaho, meeting Harris at the 1-yard line, knocking him back just enough to fall inches short of the goal line to end the Wolverines’ long title drought.

“He’s a tremendous football player,” Harrison said. “He’s probably the best football player I’ve ever coached.”

But Spencer’s late-game heroics would not have been possible without Maddox Stevens.

After Sugar-Salem tied the game on a 1-yard run by Harris with one minute and 43 seconds remaining, the little known junior running back and linebacker, who has mostly played on special teams, burst through and blocked Kyle Brunson’s extra point attempt with his chest to keep the game tied at 20-20.

“That kind of hurt, I’m not going to lie,” Steven said with a smile.

Weiser had multiple chances to win it earlier. 

Senior linebacker Rylee Willet picked off Neal, but then coughed it up on the return and the Diggers’ Kaden Summers jumped on the loose ball to give them new life. Ryndon Olsen then missed a 35-yard field goal with four ticks remaining that sent the game into overtime.

“It was an emotional roller coaster, that’s for sure,” Stevens said. “Everyone was crying — Sugar, us, everyone.”

Weiser jumped out to an early 13-0 lead and that mainly had to do with Spencer.

He picked off Neal to set up his own 2-yard QB sneak to give the Wolverines a 6-0 a little more than three and a half minutes into the game.

Spencer then found running back Michael Youngberg for a 56-yard TD pass on the very first play of the next possession to double-up the Diggers 13-0 less than two minutes later.

But Sugar-Salem finally answered on a 20-yard strike from Neal to halfback Jonah Schulthies to cut the deficit down 13-7 with 2:45 remaining in the opening quarter. 

The Diggers got into the redzone two more times, but the Wolverines held firm. They forced a 23-yard miss by Brunson before Spencer came away with his second interception of the game to go into the break up 13-7.

The Wolverines pushed the lead back up to double digits on their first possession of the half by using almost half the quarter in a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped with a 1-yard run by Shirts with 6:19 to go in the quarter.

However, Sugar-Salem rattled off 13 unanswered points to close regulation on a 5-yard pass from Neal to halfback Cooper Porter with one second left in the third before Harris’ late touchdown set up the crazy sequence of events to end the game.

“I couldn’t ask for a better game,” Spencer said. “This is a story people will tell forever. I’m so proud of our team. I’m just so proud to call these guys my brothers.”

Brett Spencer postgame interview

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(Lead photo by Loren Orr)